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The History of Engineering 

A Course of Lectures 

to 

The Senior Engineering Students 

of the 
Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. 

By 
A. Marston, Dean of Engineering 
Spring Semester, 1912. 



I 





Copyrighted igi2 
By A. Mars ton 



)CI.A314880 






vh 

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i 



PREFACE. 



Ames, Iowa, January, 1912. 



Six years ago it became the duty of the Dean of Engineering to give a 
course of instruction in the History of Engineering to the Senior Engineering 
students of Iowa State College. As no text book exists on this subject, it 
was necessary to employ the lecture method, and the same plan was followed 
one year later. 

As was expected, only a limited portion of the great field of Engineering 
History could be touched iipon by this method during the time allotted to the 
lectures, and the lecture notes made by the students themselves were not. 
iai general, of a very satisfactory nature. The labor of accumulating and 
studying the great mass of data bearing on the subject progressed so far by 
1908. that it seemed best to present their main features in the form of mimeo- 
graph notes, as far as time permitted. About ninety pages of such notes 
were prepared at that time, and used for the classes of 1908 and 1909. This 
was increased to over 200 pages in 1910. It is now proposed to thoroughly 
revise and greatly extend these notes on the History of Engineering, and to 
have them printed instead of mimeographed. It is hoped that in this way a 
-considerably greater amoiint of ground can be covered, and that the most 
important features of the lectures can thus be presented in better form for 
preservation. However, the notes will be supplemented by lectures each week, 
during which thex'e will be shown a large luuuber of illustrative lantern slide 
\'iews. Undoubtedly much of the work of the present semester will he pre- 
sented entirely by lectures, as it will be impossible to complete the printed 
notes on the entire subject for some time to come. Hence each student will 
he expected to supplement these notes to the fullest possible extent by his own 
notes, taken during the lectures. The examinations Avill not be restricted 
to the printed notes, but will cover the entire subject matter of the lectures. 

The writer hopes to be able to continue his study of the History of En- 
erineering for many years to come, and that he may thereby be able to con- 
tinue extending and revising these notes until they reach a fairly complete 
nnd permanent form, amounting eventually to a manuscript text book on the 
subject. 



PART I. 

PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. 

1. The History af Engineering. No liistorj- of engineering has yet been 
written. It is a subject lying outside of the province of the ordinary his- 
torian, Avho is wholly unequipped with the technical knowledge reqnired for 
its study and elucidation. The subject is also outside the ordinary province 
of the engineer, for, when written properly, the History of Engineering will 
be found to consist of much more than a mere chronicle and description of 
engineering achievements, and to have had a most profound intiuenee upon 
the history of mankind. Tlie proper Avriting of the history of oar profession 
will require the searching out of its world-wide relations. It will call for a 
broad general training, added to tlie highest technical knowledge, and will 
demand both the ability and the time for many years of patient research 
into all branches of the development of civilization. 

The Avorld-wideness of the subject, its technical nature, the pressing char- 
acter of an engineer's regular duties, and the short period of time which has 
elapsed since the recognition of engineering as a profession, fully account 
for the fact that as yet no attempt has been made to write the history of 
engineering. 

2. Engineering History and the Engineer. Yet. when properly written, 
the study of engineering history will be most important to the engineer. 

For one thing, no calling can be considered worthy to l)e ranked as a pro- 
fession until it is iml)ued with such real professional spirit and enthusiasm 
as to know and to take pride in its ancestr.-v. 

Besides this, each engineer is rightful heir to the accumulated knowledge 
and skill of all the generations of his predecessors. He should be familiar 
with the history of their efforts and achievements, so as to begin his work 
at the point where they left off, and to be able, in his turn, to do something 
to increase the heritage of the profession. He should study, not only the 
details of present practice, but also the stejis liy which that practice has been 
developed. Thus in his own work lie may be enabled to profit l)y tlie ex- 
perience of his predecessors, and avoid the mistakes by which they learned^ 
Engineei-ing history should lie able to tell him whether any new suggestion 
or invention has or has not already been tried and found wanting. 

Fiirthermore a careful .study of engineering in the past may frequently 
suggest new points of departure for new professional achievements. 

Engineering history is also important to the engineer by broadening and 
enlarging his view of his profession. Xb person can achieve the greatest 
successes in engineering who is not a man of the broadest character, able to 
meet a myriad responsibilities of not strictly technical nature. The man who 
can plan and build a Panama Canal must have a widei- knowledge of the 
world's commerce than any great merchant; he nuist have the address to 
convince an entire nation of the con-ectness of his ideas; he must have the 
business ability to carry out the enterprise against difficulties greater than 
those ever encountered by a business corpoi-ation. What better study eoidd he 
take up than that of the history of the canals of the world, and their effect 
upon the development of commerce and civilization? !^o with other braiu^hes 
of engineering; their history is linked indissojubly with the history of nuui- 
kind in general, in a myriad ways whose understanding would eontribute in- 
valuably to the proper training of the engineer. 

3. Engineering History and General History. The great influence of en- 
gineering history upon general history is well illustrated by the fact that 
archaeology has classified the dift'erent conditions of human culture strictly 
in accordance with the state of development of engineering industry and 
invention. Th\is we have the "stone age" (savagism"), in Avhich tools and 
weapons were made mainly of stone, and the "bronze age" (barbarisnO and 



the "iron age" (civilization), in which again the principal engineering ma- 
terial for tools and weapons gives its name to the culture period. Tools and 
other engineering devices are essential to any industrial development. An 
able writer* on "Mankind in Ancient Times" says ''industry is the foundation 
and main force of savage eultui'e, " and that the invention of bronze tools 
"elevated mankind from savagism to barbarism." Archaeology, therefore, 
gives great prominence to ancient engineering in studying the development 
of culture and civilization. 

Ordinarj' historians, however, have not, as it seems to the writer, given 
in their study sufficient attention to engineering inventions, processes, ma- 
terials, and knowledge as most important factors in history. Thus one of the 
well known historians** of civilization in the ^Middle Ages devotes an entire 
chapter to a discussion of ""Wliat the Middle Ages Started With," in which 
he discusses at length literature, art, philosophy, science, law and government. 
He devotes only a part of the last page of the chapter, however, to the great 
subject of the industrial and mechanical side of civilization. BQs remarks, 
will be quoted here verbatim, as illustrating both the very great importance- 
of the subject, and the naive way in which a good historian can practically 
ignore some of the most important and fundamental factors affecting history, 
merely because some special technical knowledge is required for their ade- 
quate study and presentation. 

"We must remember, however, in closing this chapter, that we have omitted, 
even from this general sketch, one large side of civilization, to which we can 
give no adequate treatment here or elsewhere. It is what may be called the 
economic and mechanical side. There passed over to the Middle Ages from 
the ancients large gains of this sort. Knowledge of the mechanical arts, ac- 
quired skill and inventions; methods of agriciiltui'e and navigation; organized 
trade and commerce, not all of which disappeared ; accumulations of capital, 
cleared and improved land, houses, roads and briges, many of which con- 
tinued in use across the whole of medieval times : administrative methods, 
both in general and local government : in a word, all sorts of practical knowl- 
edge and training, and many mechanical appliances. The economic influence 
of the Koman Empire affected in many Avays indeed the larger movements of 
history. The comparative free trade which the empire established, the con- 
stitution of the Koman villa, or farm, the l)eginning of the process which trans- 
formed the slave into the serf, the forced dependence of the small landholder 
upon the large one, are important instances. These things constitute together, 
in some respects, the most primary and fundamental departments of civiliza- 
tion, and must not be forgotten, though, with the exception of a few instances 
Avhich we shall notice, they demand, like the greater part of political history, 
special and specific treatment." 

If history is to be more than a mere chronicle of events, and is to include 
as essentially a part of itself adequate discussions and explanations of its 
great landerlying causes, then it would appear necessary that the history of 
engineering should be written, for the benefit not only of the engineer, but 
of mankind in general. 

Taking, for example, the history of the marvelous development of our own 
co\intry, it is granted by every one that it was made possible only by the 
steamship, the canal, the railroad, the modern bridge, and the telegraph. 
Without these means of transportation and communication, the vast interior 
of our continent would have required many centuries for its conquest. Yet 
in our histories we find but brief and most inade(iuate discussion of these 
great engineering achievements, each of which has been of far greater im- 
portance to the world than any war ever waged. A detailed history of the 
development of any one of these engineering achievements woidd .show self 
sacrifice, devotion, energy, persistence, and courage even to death, on the 
part of many men. Its bare facts would read like the most imaginative 
romance. The men in the '60 's and '70 's who built our first transcontinental 
railways across the western plains in spite of deserts and savages, were in 

*HittoIl— Vol. I.- p. 325, and Vol. II. p. 12. 
**Clvilization during the Middle Ages — G. B. Adams. 



man J' cases the same who had fought to save the union in the Civil War just 
preceding, and were doing equally great service for their country. Histoiy 
should as fully remember the later service as the earlier. 

The entire tremendous development of modern civilization which began 
with the great mechanical inventions of gun powder, the compass and the 
printing press, has been very largely due throughout to great mechanical in- 
ventions and engineering achievements. 

Between 1750 and 1815, for example, the invention and development of the 
spinning jenny, the power loom, the use of coal" in smelting iron, and the 
steam engine, gave England that world preeminence in industry and com- 
merce which enabled her to conquer India, and to defeat Napoleon's attempt 
to subjugate Europe. History should adequately describe and discuss these 
underlying causes of such great events. 

Again, in our own country, the invention of the cotton gin and of success- 
ful machinery for the manufacture of cotton fabrics, fastened slavery upon 
us at a time when it wa,s in proces.s of natural extinction, while it was the 
vast development of the mechanical industries of the northern states which 
enabled the Union to win in the great struggle for preservation of unity, 
thereby emancipating the slaves. We have many volumes of history devoted 
to the great struggle, yet none of them adequately discuss these powerful and 
foundamental factors. 

And just as history seems largely to have overlooked the fact that engineer- 
ing industrial development may be said to have freed millions of Mack slaves, 
so it gives little or no discussion of the sewing machine, the self binder, the 
telephone, and a myriad kindred engineering inventions and processes Avhieh 
have freed vastly many mow millions of ivliitc slaves, on the farm and in 
the home, and which haVe fed and clothed the whole world. 

We are now reading every day of the men who are risking and devoting 
their lives to assist in the conquest of the air. There ci\n be no shadow of 
doubt that this new engineering achievement will continue, in the immediate 
future, the profound effect of engineering upon history. 

4. Antiquity of Engineering. President Eliot, of Harvard, has stated in 
a public address that the ])rofession of engineering is the oldest known to 
history. This is undoul)tedly true when we take engineering in the bi'oad 
sense in which it will be discussed throughout these lectures, and which is 
indicated by the great definition incorporated since its adoption in the charter 
of the British Institution of Civil Engineers; viz., "the art of directing the 
great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man." Ac- 
cording to this generally accepted definition, engineering projjcrly includes all 
utilization by mankind of the materials of construction, and of the mechanical 
forces and laws of nature. 

The magnitude of each engineering nchievoment must be measured l)y its 
rdaiive importance in the civilization of its own day. 

Thus the invention of the first rude tools of stone Avas one of the greatest 
engineering achievements of mankihd. The fact that man is the only tool 
inventing animal constitutes one of the principal differences between him and 
the brutes, and gave him the nuistery of the world. The ever increasing 
ntilization of physical forces and materials has been one of the most funila- 
mental factors of the development of civilization. 

Hence it may be said that engineering is far inore aiu-ient Hum history. 
At the earliest dawn of recorded history, we find in Ancient Egypt the record 
of so great an engineering achievement as the actual changing of the course 
of the river Nile.* an engineering fent so great that it would be difficult even 
to the engineers of today, and which jiresupposes thousands of years of pre- 
vious development. Engineering not only antedates history, b\it. in fact, 
must be considered to be as old as mankind itself. 

Yet Avhile the great antiquity of engineering is not to be disputed. Ilu^ 
recognition of the engineer as a member of a learned jn-ofession has been 

■*.V1 .Mcmjihis. s:il(l liv 1 leriiiioliis to liiive bei n acconipH.<i|ioil li\- Jlencs. a kliiK of tlie 1st 



8 

very reeeut. Not until the first half of the 19th century did such recognition 
really begin, and not until the last half of that centurj- did it really obtain. 
Prior to 1800 the engineer (except Avhen devoting himself mainly to archi- 
tecture) Avas usually regarded as a mere master workman, or mechanic. Law, 
medicine and theology were the only "learned professions." The engineer 
had no special schools, no technical societies, no code of ethics or professional 
organization, and was not held in high popular esteem. 

In fact we have the apparent paradox that engineering, is at once the 
youngest and the oldest of the learned professions. 

There are a number of reasons why tlie progress of the recognition of en- 
gineering as a most honorable profession was so slow. 

In the first place, the engineer, more than any other professional man, has 
to do in his daily work with absolute truth ; with laws of the universe, which, 
while difficult to discover and understand, are absolutely rigid and unvarying 
in their operation. Thus he and his work must be absolutely true and xva- 
pretending, for chicane has never been of the least avail to deceive a physical 
law, nor has ignorance ever been accepted in excuse of its least infraction. 
On this account engineering has never been able to advance faster than man's, 
real scientific IvnoAvledge of the universe would safely warrant. By no amount 
of hocus pocus is it ever possible for the engineering profession successfully 
to pretend to mysterious knowledge not really possessed; for a structure or 
machine not in accordance with true physical law Avill always fail, and thus 
expose the incompetency of its contriver. 

To illustrate, the able theologians who propounded and defended the ter- 
rible doctrine of infant damnation, received high honor and respect from 
their own generation and church, upon which they siicceeded in impressing 
that hideous mistake by their great ability in argument. Contrast this with 
the dreadfiil humiliation and reproach wliieh have punished the able and 
honest engineers who designed the fallen Quel^ec bridge, for having stepped 
but one pace in advance of the known limits of established engineering knowl- 
edge. The comparison will help us to understand why engineering was never 
able to command equal rank with theology and medicine until the time of 
the recent Avonderful advances in scientific knowledge. 

Again, the laAvyer found it possible in ancient times for governments to 
compel obedience to the most cruel and unjust laAVS by sheer despotic force, 
but the engineer has never had at his command any other means for com- 
pelling the adoption of his ideas than actual demonstration of their usefulness 
to mankind. Utility to humanity, the criterion l)y Avliich all professions must 
be tested and finally ranked, has always been the immediate and rigid rule 
of judgment of engineering. In all ages tlie main applications of engineering 
knOAvledge and skill have been to meet the daily needs of the masses of man- 
kind, rather than to aggrandize and glorify engineers. While, therefore, 
many a king or official has endeavored to claim for himself the credit of some 
great engineering achievement, the engineer must trace his ancestry among^ 
the little esteemed multitude of ancient. artisa;ns rather than among those 
limited classes Avhich Avrung power and fame from the sufferings of the 
multitude. 

To the rigid engineering requirements of exact truth to i)hysical law, and 
of actual demonstration of utility to humanity, and to the humble ancestry 
of the engineer, Ave umst attriluite the sIoav recognition of the profession of 
engineering, Avhich is as old as the human race, and AA'hich in the pyramids 
of Egypt reared the greatest mass of masonry ever yet consti-ncted, at a time 
when laAv Avas still largely the arbitrary enforcement of a Pharoah's AA-him, 
when medicine still struggled to propitiate imaginary demons by its incanta- 
tions, and Avhen priests still rided nations Ijy superstitious dogma for their 
OAvn aggrandizement. It should be the pride of engineers that the recognition 
of our profession did not come until the enlightenment of the present day. 

o. An Outline Summary of Engineering History. Engineering is so in- 
timately related to the development of civilization that the most significant 
classification of engineering history Avill l)e in accordance Avith the culture 
periods of human development. This classification Avill, therefore, be adopted 



in preference to a stx'ictly chronological arrangement, though it Jiiaj'- require 
the pi'esentation of the pyramids of Mexico as really more ancient examples 
of engineering construction than those built at least 4,000 years eai'lier in 
Egypt. Following this plan, we shall have the following 

CLASSIFICATION OF ENGINEERING HISTORY. 



A. Engineering in the Savage Culture Stage, including prehistoric engineer- 
ing and engineering among savages during the historic period. ^lention will 
be made of the Pleistocene savages, whose tools and weapons have been found 
in central Europe in conjunction with geological evidence of extreme an- 
tiquity. Of later development in the savage culture state are the Swiss lake 
villages of Europe, and the mound and pueblo builders of North America. 
Among modern savages we may still find examples of most stages of develop- 
ment of savage culture. 

B. Engineering in the Culture Stage of Barbarism, including engineering 
in Ancient Mexico. Peru. China, India. Egypt, Chaldaea and Assyria, Asia 
Minor and Persia. 

Note. — jHittell also classifies the ancient Teutons and Celts and modern 
INIohammedans, as barbarians. 

C. Engineering in the Ancient Greek and Roman Civilizations, including a 
period of about 1,000 years, from, say 600 B. C. to 400 A. D., and in area in- 
cluding all the regions extending from India to the British Islands, but 
especially the countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, 

D. Engineering in the Middle Ages. This period also includes about 1,000 
years, extending from, say 400 A. D. to 1400 A. D. The region is the same 
as for C above. 



Til 



ion oT aetivitv 



Iv Early Modern Engineering, 1400-1750 A. 1). 
now widens to include practically the entire world. 

F. The Steam Age, 1750-1830 A. D. 

G. Present Day Engineering, 1850-Present Time. Present day eugiueering 
is so complex that in addition to a general survey of the sub.ject it is neces- 
sary to make a detailed .study of each of its important branches, such as: 



1. (Janal Engineering. 19. 

2. Road Engineering. 20. 
:?. Steam Engineering. 21. 

4. Railway Engineering. 22. 

5. Marine Engineering. 23. 
(i. Harbor Engine(>ring. 24. 

7. Waterways Engineering. 25, 

8, Water Power Hngineering. 2fi. 
f). Irrigation Engineering. 27. 

10. l)]-ainage Engineering. 28, 

11. Sewerage Kngineering. 20. 

12. Water Supply Engineering. 30. 

13. 1'unnel Engineering. 31. 

14. Bi-idge Engineering, 32, 

15. City Engineering. 33, 
l(i. Street iJailway Engineering, 34, 

17, Mining Kngineering. 35. 

18. Ceramic Engineeriuii. 36, 
Etc., etc. 



I\Ietallurgical Engineering. 
Ii-on and Steel Engineering. 
Gas Engineering. 
Power Plant Engineering. 
Factory Engineering. 
]\[anufactures and Arts. 
Chemical Engineering. 
Agricultural ^lachinery. 
Electricity, 

Electric Power Engineering. 
Electric Light Engineering. 
Electric Railway Engineerinj 
Telegraph Engineering. 
Telephone Engineering, 
^lilitary Engineering. 
Architectural Kngineering, 
Engineering Societies, 
Enfrineeritm Education, 



We may briefly summarize the lustory of engineering during 
periods as follows : 



rhe above 



10 

G. A. Outline of Engineering in the Savage Culture Stage. Tlie duration 
of the past life of mankind is still uncertain, but a number of good authori- 
ties have estimated it at about 200,000 years. The exact length of time is 
not very material to our discussion of engineering history. Assuming that 
the estimate of 200,000 years is tipproximately correct it may be said that 
much the greater part, or about 185,000 to 190,000 years, of the life of man- 
kind have been passed in savagism. Only during the last 8,000 to 12,000 
years has a small portion of the human race been in a higher state of culture, 
rising first from savagism to barbarism. Only 2.500 years ago a still smaller 
portion of mankind emerged from barbarism to early civilization. At the 
present time civilized man has conquered the world, and is rapidly spreading 
civilization over its entire surface, but the savages and barbarians still out- 
number the civilized races. Hittell estimates that the present population 
of the globe includes about 250,000,000 of the black race, 600,000,000 of the 
yellow race and 550,000,000 Avhites. The blacks are nearly all in savagism„ 
The yellow race are partly savage, but mostly in the barbaric stage; though 
9 the Japanese, the first of any yellow race, have just made good a claim to 
' civilization. Not even all of the white race can be classed as civilized. 

All but a small fraction, therefore, of the life of mankind has been passed 
in the savage culture stage. This immense period was one of imperceptibly 
slow progress in mechanical and other engineering lines, just as in all other 
culture. Each small advance came as the result of long and painful ex- 
perience, by which the simplest and most elementary principles had to be 
learned over and over again, by generation after generation. However, such 
]U'inciples, Avhen finally learned, became the permanent property of whole 
races, and so the foundations i'or mankind's later amazing advances were 
broadly and surely laid. 

A careful enumeration of the achievements of savagism will show that they 
were many in number, and of the most fundamental importance to humanity. 
They include, in engineering lines : The discovery of the simple properties 
of many mateiials of construction, such as stone, wood and earth-, some 
knowledge of minerals and metals as found in the natural state ; the inven- 
tion of many simple tools and processes; and the discoveiy of the operation 
of many elementary physical laws as encountered in every day life. The 
])rinciples of the inclined plane, the wedge, the block and tackle, the beam 
and column are found in use in the savage tribes of the present day. 

The arts of dressing leather, of spinning threads, of weaving baskets and 
cloth, and the manufacture of pottery are achievements of savagism. 

Savage races developed land transportation by human labor, and water 
transportation by canoes and boats, propelled by paddles, oars and finally 
by sails. 

They also invented and developed many ingenious implements and weapons, 
including the bow aud arrow, and the sling. The prevailing material for 
implements and Aveapons was stone. 

The oldest stone tools and Aveapons found are so rude in nature that the 
very fact of their really being the ])roduet of human intelligence Avas long 
disputed. On the otlier hand, the corresponding polished stone implements 
of the highest savage culture skow. pi-obably. the highest possible development 
of that material. 

In the latest period of the stone age, many savage races have come to 
fashion part of their ornaments and implements out of native copper, Avhieh 
is found in many lands, but its softness made the metal inferior to stone for 
cutting tools. Independently, as their knoAvledge of hoAv to make very hot 
fires improved, many races have eventually made the discovery that copper 
could be hardened by the admixture of a comparatively small percentage of 
tin. This invention of bronze gave a material very much superior to stone 
for the mannfactiu>e of cutting tools, and lifted men fi-om savagism to 
barbarism. 

7. B. Outline of Engineering in the Barbaric Culture Stage. During the 
barbaric culture stage, progress in culture became very much more rapid. 



11 

The various arts and handicrafts l)ecame the special occupations of or- 
ganized crafts, by whose agency the knowledge acquired by experience was 
handed down and improved upon from generation to generation. 

The small individual tribes of savagism became welded into great nations, 
whose organized energies, wielded by despotic governments, could be directed 
to the accomplishments of great enterprises. To this period of engineering 
belong those immense pyramids, reared of earth in ilexico, and in Egypt 
of solid masonry, to be the enduring monuments of religion and ambition. 
To barbarian nations must also be credited the stupendous irrigation canals 
of Chaldaea, the Great Wall and the Grand Canal of China, and the two 
thousand mile roads of Peru, eonstmietiou demanded by the necessities of 
subsistence, defence and commerce. 

Thus to the barriaric culture stage belong some of tlie greatest constructive 
achievements of engineering, accomplished not by the aid of mysterious 
mechanical appliances, as sometimes conjectured, but by the concenti'ated 
efforts of tens of thousands of men, compelled to their tasks by the whips 
of despotic authority. 

In barbaric nations, the instinctive appreciation of art, which crude at- 
tempts at its expression show to exist universally, even among the rudest 
savages, became highly developed, and, when expressed through constructive 
engineering, gave rise to great architectural monuments, Avhich are still the 
wonder and the admiration of the world. 

Mining engineering developed to the point of operating regular mines for 
gold, silver, tin, copper, and perhaps certain other minerals, including finally 
iron. 

Marine engineering developed from a very early date. The construction 
of ships, propelled by both oars and sails, and large enough for ocean service, 
was undertaken and accomplished. Extensive military and merchant navies 
were developed by many barbaric nations. 

Though the rate of progress in culture in the barbaric stage was still al- 
most imperceptibly slow, as compared with the present, yet it was very i-apid 
as compared with the savage stage, and in a relatively few thousands of 
years, artisans learned to make fires in their furnaces hot enough to smelt 
iron. Soon the mastery of this material was attained to such an extent that 
it supplanted bronze, which is vastly inferior in utility. The abundant in- 
troduction of iron markfd the beginning of the civilized culture stage. 

8. C. Outline of Engineering- in the Ancient Greek and Roman Civiliza- 
tion, 600 B. C.-400 A. D. About 2,500 years ago the first civilization was 
developed, by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The empiric scientific data 
accumulated during ages of savagism and barbarism, and handed down by 
the daily practice of thousands of generations, or preserved in royal and 
priestly libraries, were now collected and discussed by men of genius, whose 
names are still household woixls in science. 

"With the beginning of real science, engineering. undtM' tlie name of ardiiter- 
ture, and allied to art, received its fii-st recognition as a profession. There is 
still extant one of the old Roman books on architecture, in which the union of 
engineering and architecture in one profession is attested by its chapters on 
water supply and machinery. 

Among the ancient Greeks, art received perhaps the highest devolopmont 
ever yet known and henc(> their greatest constructive achievements were not 
utilitarian structures, but those wonderful temples, Avhich i)urely as expres- 
sions of art, have never since been equalled in architecture. Alons with the 
names of her great men in literature, painting and sculpture. Greece was 
.iustly proud to preserve in history that of the architect of the Parthenon. 

The Romans, who finally obtained the ma.stery of iiraclically the entire 
ancient civilized world, were greatly inferior to the Greeks as artists, but 
greatly superior as engineers. Grecian architecture, however beautiful, was 
not well suited to the utilitarian needs of a great empii-e with its many dif- 
ferent races ;uu\ climates. Even the Grecian tem])les. thouiih wonderful 
expressions of art. were not well suited to be the ]ilaces of worship of a 
deeply religious people, nor at all adapted to rigoro\is clinmtes. Roman 



12 

architecture, therefore, achieved its triumphs in a great variety of structures 
devised to meet public needs, rather than in high artistic excellence. It 
boasts of the basilica, the public baths, the Circus Maximus, the Colosseum 
aud the triumphal arch, rather than of its temples. It was in the new inven- 
tion of these structures, in their vast size, in the magnificence of their mater- 
ials and ornamentations, and in their ingenious engineering details of con- 
struction, that Koman architects surpassed the Greek. 

To the Koman eugiueer-architeet must be given the credit of adopting and 
developing the semicircular arch, which has been independently devised by 
many barbaric nations, but which was never before extensively put to actual 
use. One cause of the artistic inferiority of Roman architecture was that the 
use of the arch required a long period of development before entirely suit- 
able S3'stems of ornamentation could be devised. 

AVhen we consider the more purely engineering work of the Romans, our 
admiration requires no qualification. Their mastery of the principle of the 
arch enabled them to build monumental bridges which endure to the present 
day. Yet these bridges did not surpass, as purely engineering structures, 
Caesar's pile bridge, so rapidly thrown across the Rhine, nor Trajan's great 
wooden arches across the Danube. 

Milstery of the arch principle also led to the construction of the many great 
masonry aquediiets, built for the public water supply systems, not only of 
Rome, but of practically all cities of importance throughout the entire empire; 
those aqueducts which have never since been equalled for magnitude of 
elevated masonry Avater channels, and Avhose remains are still the admiration 
of the most highly skilled modern engineer. Great tunnels were also num- 
bered among the common feats of the Roman water supply engineer, while in 
the cities he laid tons upon tons of lead distribution pipes to conduct the 
water from the public reservoirs to the public baths, and to the residences 
of the wealthy. A photogTai)h of a collection of ancient plumbing fixtures- 
reminds one most decidely of the show window of a modern establishment 
in the same handicraft. 

ScAvers are everyAA'here the necessary accompaniment of Avater supply sys- 
tems, and hence received proper attention from the Romans. The Cloaca 
^Maxima, or great seAver. of Rome, is still partly in use, though dating from 
tlie ear]\- history of the city, and has been indispensable to the vei'y existence 
and preserve) ti on of the imperial city. 

The Romans Avere also skilled in the drainage of agricultural lauds, and liad 
an excellent system of public land surveys. 

Roman engineers Avere great road builders, and the netAvork of massi\'e 
and enduring higliAva^ys Avith Avhich they covered their entire empire must be 
reckoned among its most important achievements. 

Ancient shipping, which Ave find frequently pictured on the monuments 
of Egypt, received A^ery extensive development among the Phoenicians, and 
later among the Greeks, and Avas of the utmost importance to the Romans. 
They built extensive docks and artificial harbors. Their galleys Avere un- 
surpassed for speed uutil the modern age of steam, and some of the ancient 
]\rediteri-anean grain ships almost eciualled in size a modern ocean steamer. 

In mechanical apjdiances, a considerable beginning Avas made at deA'elop- 
ment. They had pile drivers and derricks to use for construction purposes. 
Water Avheels and puuips Avere in actual use. The Avater clock Avas one of a 
number of ingenious mechanical contrivances, rather scientific curiosities than 
machines, among Avhich Avas end)odied the idea of the steam engine, though 
not in a Avorking form. 

The military engines of the Greeks and Romans Avere very poAverful and 
effective, and Avere unsurpassed until some time after the invention of gun 
poAvder. ]\Iilitary engineering, in general, as regards both the attack and 
defense of cities, Avas highly developed, and some of the ancient Avails and 
moats and siege constructions Avere of very great magnitude. 

"We should not omit, in an outline of engineering among the Romans, to 
make mention of their mining operatious. By slave labor, organized on a 
large scale, they conducted extensive mining and smelting operations for iron. 



i 



13 

copper, tin, gold aud silver. In Spain, for example, the mines for copper 
and iron were on an especially large scale. The tin mines of Cornwall, Eng- 
land are another example of famous ancient mines. 

9. D. Outline of Engineering in the Middle Ages, 400 A. D.-1400 A. D. 

At a time when it was greatly weakened by internal corruptions and dis- 
sensions, for which, had not outside forces intervened, a remedy from within 
would doubtless have been found in time, the Roman Empire was assailed 
on all sides by stuixly, uncontamiuated l)arbariau peoples, and, after repeated 
assaults, was almost entirely conquered and overrun. Now was illustrated 
the fact that mere actual knowledge by a few individuals of mechanical con- 
trivances and principles is not sufficient to make them available for the use 
of the whole race, for, though her mechanical knowledge was free to her 
invaders, it required a thousand years for the barbarian conquerors of Rome 
fully to acquire her ancient civilization. 

During this period of the dark ages, engineering, like other phases of cul- 
ture, seemed to have retrograded. The magniticient Roman water supply 
and sewerage systems fell into decay and misuse, while pestileuce after pesti- 
lence almost depopulated the unsanitary mediaeval cities. The network of 
Roman roads was no longer kept up so that even adjoining coinmunities 
lived in ignorance of each other, unable longer freely to communicate and 
trade. The ancient masterpieces of architecture were often used as quarries 
for material to build the strongholds of robber nobles. 

The retrogression was. however, more apparent than real. Knowledge of 
the ancient handicrafts, iind of engineering and architeetiu-al ]>rinci]iles. was 
never entirely lost. ]\Iore and more they became the property of the entire 
European people, until the Renaissance ended the Dark Ages by a i)eriod of 
enthusiastic studj^ of the ancient civilization which finally made it entirely 
the possession of Europe. 

^Moreover, the virile Teutonic eoncpierors of Rome introduced new elements 
of ]irogress and strength, and, free from the ancient taint, stood equipped, 
at the beginning of modern times, for the greatest epoch yet witnessed in the 
world's history. 

The necessities of ocean commerce and intercourse between nations in the 
Middle Ages maintained in use modified ancient ships, or galleys, propelled 
by oars and sails. 

Much of the energy of the Middle Ages was directed along military lines. 
and they witnessed the development of steel armor, and of the feudal castle. 
The military engines, however, were inferior to those of the Romans. 

The development of iiulustry brought about the organization of powerful 
guilds. The masonic fraternity had to do with actual masonry t-onstruction. 
There were even "l)rotherhoods of the bridge.'' devoted to bridge construction. 

It was in religious architecture, however, that the ^Middle Ages made their 
greatest eonsti'uclive achievements. The Roman basilica developed into the 
early Christian church, and expanded use of the semi-circular Roman arch 
gave the Romanes(|ue style of architecture. In the eastern, or Crecian em])ire. 
which alone of the Roman dominions had escaped confjuest by barbarians. 
Byzantine architecture grew out of the Roman, Avhile the ^lohammedan in- 
vaders of the south and east, along with a brilliant literature and science, 
developed the Arabian or Saracenic architectural style. CThe extreme reli- 
gions devotion typical of the Middle Ages called for more adequate architec- 
tural expression than was afforded by the Romanesque, with its monotonou.sly 
rounded semi-circular arches. Hence in France and other ])ortious of Europe, 
there was developed, at aliout 1000 to 1200 A. D., the (Jothie style, with 
its pointed arches and slender spires aspiring heavenward. For hundreds 
of years a large part of the energv of an extensive community woidd be 
directed to the erection of one of the great Gothic cathedrals, dominating the 
entire city, and sculptured from top to bottom with religious representations, 
a veritable "prayer in stone." However towards the close of the Middle 
Ages, there came with the Renaissance a revival of the classic architectural 
styles of ancient Greece and Rome. 



14 

10. Modern Engineering. iSiuce 1400 A. D., the development of engin- 
eering has been so extensive that when the liistory of engineering really comes 
to be written all preceding that date will constitute but a few introductory 
chapters to a bulky volume. It has been stated truly that if the engineering 
work constructed in the last 100 years alone were to be abandoned for 2000 
years like those of the ancients, they would then by far exceed all that man- 
Idnd had accomplished permanently to mark the face of the earth prior to 
the last 100 years. 

11. E. Early Modern Engineering. 1400 A. D. to 1750 A. D. The be- 
ginning of the period was signalized by the adoption by Europe of the 
great inventions of gunpowder the printing press, the compass, and the 
canal lock. The earliest manufacture of cast iron rather than wrought iron, 
as the first product of iron ore. also dates in the 11th or loth century. 

The introduction of the use of gunpowder exalted the artisan and demo- 
cracy in general, while destroying feudalism. It entirely changed the art of 
fortification and attack, and called for new manvifaetures of armament and 
ammunition, and new methods of transportation. The developments along 
these lines are still going on most vigorously. Thus gunpowder revolution- 
ized military engineering, and we may add that thereby a great stimulus 
has been given to many branches of civil engineering as well. 

The printing press greatly stimulated intellectual activity, and thereby 
especially aided the advancement of scientific knowledge, which is the founda- 
tion of engineering. The printing press also facilitated that rapid coopera- 
tive development of any new invention, and its mastery l)y a large number 
of people, which seem essential to its permanent success. 

The compass reA'olutionized the art of navigation, and therefore also revolu- 
tionized shipping and marine engineering in general. It thus enabled the 
sway of civilization to be extended to America, and indeed to the entire world. 

The invention of the e;!nal lock is supposed to have occurred about 1139, 
and it eventaially revolutionized internal transportation and profoundly af- 
fected commerce. The Canal of Briare, in France, completed in 1612, was the 
first summit level canal. The great Languedoc Canal in southern France, con- 
necting the Atlantic Ocean witli the ^Mediterranean sea, was completed in 1681, 
and for 110 years was the greatest artificial waterway of western civilization. 

Ever since 1100 the work of the great seientirts and mathematicians has 
been placing engineering upon an ever more extensive and solid foundation 
of scientific knowledge. (Jalileo and Newton were liut two of the many of the 
many great physical scientists of the early modern epoch, whose discoveries 
have been the real cause which lias made engineering a profession. 

About the beginning of the 17th century an organization of a eoi'ps of 
royal engineers was eti'eeted in Fraiice by Sully, the comrade and minister 
of Henry IV. Indeed. Cnizot states that "Sully covered the country with 
i-oads. bridges, eanals. iniildines jmd other works of public utility." a state- 
ment doubtless somewhat exaggerated. 

In 1661 the French Academy of Science was establislied l}y Colbert, the 
great ininister of Louis XIV. Colbert also improved tlie roads, introduced 
new and encouraged old manufactru-es. and did nuich to ]iromote commerce 
and shipping. It is stated tliat tlie first school of science Avas established in 
France in 1718. 

At about this same period. Vaubau and Coehorn revolutionized military 
engineering, and by their great acliitvcments in fortifications and sieges did 
much to give fame to the calling of the engineer. Vauban was made a mar- 
shal of France in recognition of his ability as a great military en^'ineer. 

Small arms and artillery liad now become highly elficient, and grea^ en- 
gineering problems nf transportation had to he solved to make feasible the 
operations of the great armies of Turenne and ^Marlborough. 

Marine engineering had also b>- this time become greatly developed, both 
for war and commerce, in so far as concerned the comstruction and navigation 
of sailing vessels, and the oceans were now easily traversed by the navies of 
the world. 



15 

In 1660 the Greenland dock was built at London, i-emaiuing the only one 
in that port until the 19th century. The first dock at Liverpool was begun 
in 1709. Other European harbors received similar engineering improvements. 

11. F. Outline of history of modern engineering in the steam age. 1750 
to 1850 A. D. This period of 100 years has for its preeminent engineering 
achievement the development of the steam engine. Litth^ had been accom- 
plished with this agency prior to 1750. while by 1850 it had been developed 
to very high efficiency, had been applied to all its greatest uses, and stood 
preeminent, with hardly a rival. Since 1850, electricity and the gas engine 
have become great rivals and associates of steam. 

Although general progress in scientific knowledge and in the development 
of meclianical industries and engineering in general was very rapid from 
1400 A. D. to 1750 A. D., as compared with the thousand preceding years, 
yet the great industrial revolution was reserved for the last half of the 18th 
century. Indeed a well known liistoriaii* has mride the swee])ing statement 
that "At the middle of the 18th century all the industrial arts were being 
carried on in practically the same way that they were followed six or seven 
thousand years before in ancient Egypt and Babylonia." Doubtless this 
statement is greatly exaggerated, but in the manufacture of cloth, for example, 
each thread was still being done seperately by hand in 1750. and the weaving 
was still being done on hand looms. Iron was still smelted by charcoal fires, 
and was consequently scarce and costly. For power, men had supplemented 
human strength, to any considerable extent, onlj^ by animals, wind mills and 
rude water wheels. 

Suddenly all this was changed by a series of great inventions. Ilargreaves 
devised the s))inning .jenny about 1767, and Ai'kwriglit ])orfected the inven- 
tion. Cartwright added the power loom in 1785. and now one person could 
accomplish the Avork of hundreds in the manufacture of cloth. Soon after, 
the invention of the cotton gin in America, by Eli Whitney, gave all the raw 
material needed. 

During these same years Watt perfected the steam engine, and the great 
English coal deposits came to be utilized, in the form of coke, for smelting 
as well as for fuel. Thus iron and power could now be had for manufacturing 
at a low cost, and to any desired amount. 

It lias very .justly been pointed out that it was the manufacturing and com- 
mercial supremacy secured to England by these great industrial improvements 
which enabled her to win in the great Napoleonic wai-s which followed. 

Cheap transportation, especially for interior i-egions. was still lacking after 
the great inventions enumerated above, but now Brindley and his compeers 
in England, and the French engineers covered those two countries with 
great networks of canals. To supplement the cheap water carriage of the 
canals. Great Britian built networks of fine stone i-oads, and in France the 
military highways of Napoleon, like himself, scaled the Alps. The names of 
the British engineers Macadam and Telford are still used to characterize the 
two principal methods of building s-tone highways. 

Highways and canals enormously stimulated the development of manufac- 
turing and commerce, and soon their needs required other and still more 
efficient modes of transportatioiV In 1807. P^ulton. in America, made the first 
really successful application of steftm to navigation. Soon the steamboat was 
common on inland and coast wise waters, and in 1S:W the Great Western, de- 
signed by Brunei, demonstrated the practicability of steam trans-Atlantic 
navigation. 

Meantime, George Stephenson, in 1829. had. on the Liverpool and ^Man- 
chester Railroad, finally demonstrated the success of the steam railway. 
Europe and America were soon provided with great railway systems. 

The construction and operation of railways greatly stinnilated both mec- 
hanical and civil engineering, which were as yet one profession. Not only 
constantly improved locomotives, and great shojis. were called for. but also 
improved railroad track, great cuts, bridges, enbankments, tunnels, and the 
highest degree of engineering skill in the economic location of railway lines, 
and in overcoming difficulties in construction and operation. 

*i\ycrs 



16 

Nor should "vve forget the Avork of the mining engineers. Without their 
work in developing the eeonomieal mining of coal and iron, and the metal- 
lurgical processes of manufacturing iron, none of the other engineering work 
could have been done. Indeed, it was mining engineers who first made successful 
use of the steam engine itself. Mining engineering Avas of great importance in 
the history of the modern world in another way. The search for precious 
metals, ]ierhaps more than any other one thing, was the motive which led 
on to the discovery and civilization of the unexplored portions of the earth's 
surface 

To meet the engineering demands of the epoch extending through the last 
half of the 18th and the first half of the 19tli century, a group of great British 
engineers was developed, some of whose names have been immortalized by 
Smiles in his "Lives of the Engineers.'' Mention may be made of John 
Smeaton, James AYatt. ]^Jathew Boulton, James Brindley. George and Robert 
Stephenson, Thomas Telfo^'d. John Reunie and I. K. Brunei. These were 
self taught men of genius who learned their calling in the hard and expensive, 
but thorough, school of experience, for there Avere no technical institutions of 
learning in their time. Perhaps the great success of these men delayed the 
foundation of engineei'ing schools in England, for there grew iTp a system of 
apprenticeship in that country whereby young engineers secured their training 
])y serving as apprentices in the office of established engineers, paying liberally 
for the privilege. In 1818 the British Institution of Civil Engineers was founded. 

In America there Avere practically no real engineers until Avell into the 19th 
centiiry, though AYashington Avas but one of many early American surveyors. 
A French engineer, L 'Enfant, Avas employed to lay out the plan of Washing- 
ton, the capital city of the new republic. When tlie (-(mstruction of the Erie 
canal Avas agitated in 1817. it Avas thought' that it Avould he necessary to 
engage an English engineer. HoAvcA^er. the great Avork Avas finally planned 
and constructed by American engineers, self taught on the Avork. In fact, the 
Erie Canal Avas the first great school of American engineering. It trained 
an able corps of men.-AA-ho. after its completion, designed and built niany other 
great early American engineering Avoi'ks. 

West Point Avas the only technical school in America in the opening quarter 
of the 19th centiuy. and many of its graduates joined the ranks of civil 
engineers. HoAvever, engineering schools Avere soon established for the educ- 
ation of ciA'il engineers. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute opened in 
1824-1828. and half a century Avas the principal civil engineering school in 
the country. Union College, at Schenectady. Xcav York, provided a civil 
engineering department in 1815. The Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, and the 
LaAvrence Scientific School, at Harvard, opened in 18-16 and 1847 respeetiA'ely. 

Throughout the 100 years from 1750 to 1850, progress along scientific lines 
Avas CA'er more and more rapid, and the period includes some of the greatest 
physicists and chemists the Avorld has knoAvn. Of special interest to en- 
gineers, is the history of the gradual groAvth of the scientific knoAvledge of 
electricity. 

During the 50 years from 1800 to 1850, general progress along engineering 
lines Avas especially rapid. 

The great cities of Europe and America AA'ere noAv first adequately proAided 
Avith Avater Avorks and scAvers. and sanitary engineering began to be placed 
on a scientifie basis. 

In bridge engineering, the first use of cast and Avrought iron occurs at this 
time. Cast iron arches, suspension bridges and Avrought iron tubular bi-idges 
Avere devised and constructed for spans up to 500 feet or more. ACeanAvhile 
there Avas a gradual develoj)ment of the truss idea, Avhich culminated, near 
the middle of the century, in a scientific analysis of tlie computation of In-idge 
stresses, and began modem bridge engineering. 

The pneumatic method of sinking foundations Avas developed. Alany great 
tunnels, aqueducts and dams Avere built. 

The substitution of steam for sail poAver made necessary the reconstruction 
of the world's shipping, harbors and docks. Iron began to siipersede wood 
for ship building. 



17 

In America, the fii'st great problem confronting engineers was to provide 
economical, rapid and efficient means of ti'ansportation from the interior of 
the continent to the coast, across the difficult barrier of tbe Allegheny Moun- 
tains. American engineers first successfully solved this problem by the con- 
struction of the Erie Canal, in the state of NeAV York, from the Hudson River 
to Lake Erie. This canal was opened in 1825 and its great success helped 
inaugurate an era of canal building wliicli lasted for a quarter of a century. 
The Pennsyh'auia canal system, with connecting railways, finally gave Phila- 
delphia a traffic route to the Ohio River. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 
however, never reached its proposed western termipus. In several other states, 
both east and west of the Alleghenies. extensive canal construction was car- 
ried on between 1825 and 1850. 

During this same period. hoAvever, the railway proved itself the overwhelm- 
ingly successful I'ival of the canal, and between 1828 and 1850 a railway net 
of 8600 miles was constructed in the United States between the Atlantic Ocean 
and the Mississippi Valley. P>v 1850. the world's railwav mileage had risen 
to 24,000. 

12. G. Outline of engineering since 1850. In 1850, it seemed to engineers 
and to the Avorld entirely improl)a])]e that the rate of progress shown by the 
great achievements of the preceding 100 years could be maintained in the 
future. In fact. hoAvever. that rate of progress has been vastlj- accelerated. 
It is no exaggeration to say that the world's engineering constructions since 
1850 have exceeded in magnitude all prior achievement. Very much of this 
progress must be attributed to the organization and recognition of engineering 
as a real learned profession. 

The development of engineering into a real profession Avas characterised, 
accelerated and in a large part accomplished by three agencies; namely, en- 
gineering education, engineering societies, and engineering literature. W.ith 
a fcAV exceptions, nli-eady mentioned, the development of these agencies has 
occurred since 1850. 

Engineering Education. During the 25 years following 1850. the great jioly- 
technical schools of Europe, especially of France, were still the meeca of 
AmerieaM- engineers, though American engineering schools Avere being estab- 
lished. [A large number of such schools, including our own Avere organized 
about 1868 as the result of the IMorrill Land Grant LaAV. AA'hich afforded na- 
tional aid to the several states for teclmieal education. Soon American en- 
gineering schools led the Avorld. By 1901. over 16.000 engineering students 
Avere enrolled in the United States in 114 engineering schools. Abroad there 
had been a corresponding progress in technical education. 

This great development of Engineering Education Avas due in large part 
to a great revolution, from 1850 to 1875, in general education. Prior to that 
period, the so called classical courses had attained the position almost of a 
fetich in higher education, and science Avas regarded as almost miAvorthy of 
even an inferior position in a college course. By the great revolution from 
1850 to 1875, education in science and scientific research avou its Avay to at 
least an equal standing Avith classics. The effect upon engineering, and in- 
deed upon civilization in general, has been profoundly beneficial. 

Engineering Societies. It has already been stated that the British Institu- 
tion of Civil Engineers Avas organized in 1818. The Soeiete des Ingenieurs 
Civils de France Avas established in 1848; The American Society of Civil En- 
gineers in 1852; The American Institute of ^Mining Engineers in 1871: The 
American Society of i\Iechanical Engineers in 1880; and the American Insti- 
tute of Electrical Engineers in 1884. Every great nation has uoav its national 
engineering clubs and societies. Tlie influence of engineei-ing societies upon 
the profession has been ])rofound. 

Engineering literature. This Avas almost non existant in 1850. but has uoav 
become of very great vohune and importance. Each particular branch of the 
profession has many books and i>eriodicals devoted to its special lines of Avork. 



18 

Without them no eiioiueer (.'ouUl keep in touch with the best practice in his 
work. These and other ajieiicies liave won for engineering a general recogni- 
tion as a learned profession. Such recognition has already, in some states, 
been incorporated in statutes, I'egiilating its practice, as in the cases of law and 
medicine. 

During the sixty years which have elapsed since engineering became a real 
learned pi'ofession. progress in engineering achievement has been tremend- 
ously accelerated. It is true that by 1850 the Steam Engine had already con- 
({uered its greatest fields, and had reached a very high stage of development 
but since then we have seen the compounding, tripling and even quadrupling 
of the rates of expansion, accompanied by a very great increase in boiler 
pressures. We have also seen the development of the high speed engine, 
while in very recent years, the steam turbine has been brought into common 
use as an entirely ncAV and efficient engine. 

^Meantime the Gas Engine has become a formidal)le rival of the steam engine. 
For light and powerful motors, always ready to start it has occupied prac- 
tically the entire field. For larger i)Ow^er installations, the producer gas en- 
gine has been developed to an efficiency about twice as great as that of the 
steam engine. 

Tn Marine Engineering, first iron, and then steel have taken the place of 
wood for constmcting ships. Ever more powerful and efficient propelling 
machinery has been introduced. The size of ships has been increased again 
and again, until the largest vessels afioat in 1850 Avould appear mere pigmies 
if placed alongside the Carmania or the Lusitania of the present day. 

Harbor Engineering has necessarily kept apace Avith marine engineering. 
Great channels have been dredged, or scoured out by .jetties. Brealnvaters 
have created artificial harbors, and made natural harbors safe. ]Money by 
the tens of millions of dollars has been expended upon docks, jiiers, warehouses 
and other harbor facitities. 

In Canal Engineering the period since 1850 has seen the development of 
the ship canal. The Suez Canal, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, 
was opened in 1869, and has greatly changed the main routes of the world's 
commerce. The Amsterdam Canal, in Holland, the Kuehl Canal, in Germany, 
the Manchester Canal, in England, and the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals 
in Canada have l)een notable achievements. The United States is now greatly 
enlarging the Erie Canal, and in the Panama Canal is successfully carrying- 
out the greatest single piece of engineering work the world has ever under- 
taken. 

The Natural Waterways of the world are now again securing development, 
which for a long time was checked ])y the overwhelming success of railways. 

Water Power Engineering is now i-eceiving a gj-eat imi)etus. owing to the 
enormous development of manufacturing, and to other great and rapidly in- 
creasing demands for power, togther with the development of long distance 
transmission by electricit.v. 

Irrigation Engineering is undergoing a modern development on a very great 
scale, especially in the United States, which is once more giving it an im- 
portance corresponding to its ancient jjreerainence in Egypt and Chaldaea. It 
is now reclaiming territories which will add new states, almost nations, tO' 
modern civilization. 

Drainage Engineering also is now adding vast tracts of i-eclaimed lauds to 
the world's fertile areas, and strange to .say, is even being found the necessary 
accomi)auiment of irrigation engineering in arid i-egions. 

The excessive present day concentration of population in cities has created 
Water Supply i)rol)lems of a magnitude never before dreamed. Aqueducts 
and pipe lines have attained lengths measured in hundreds of miles. Pumping 
plants are larger and more powerful than ever before. Purification methods 



19 

have been invented and developed on a scientific basis, and eoustrueted on a 
very great scale. Above all, the advantages of Avater supply have been ex- 
tended, since 1850. to practically all cities and to a very large proportion of 
villages. 

Sewerage is the necessary accompaniment of public water supply engineer- 
ing, and sewerage engineering has kept even pace with water supply en- 
gineering since liSoO. Sewage disposal has become of vital importance. Sewage 
purification has almost entirely been the development of this- period. 

Highway Engineering, owing to the great expansion of railways, did not 
show very extensive development for many years after 1850. Of late, how- 
ever, its great impoi'tance has received renewed recognition, and rapid ad- 
vancement is now being made. The recent wide introduction of motor veh- 
icles lias lu'ought new difficulties to overcome, while according possibilities of 
new conditions in rural life which may prove to be of very wide reaching effect. 

Railway Development has been, in point of magnitude and vital importance, 
one of the greatest of engineering achievements since 1850. The world's rail- 
ways increased from 24.000 miles in 1850, to 340,000 in 1887. and to 524,000, 
in 1902. Of this the United States had 202.000. and the mileage in this country 
had risen to 227,000 in 1907. In the United States, the years immediately 
following 1850 saw the railway net extended across the ^Mississippi Valley to 
the Missouri Kiver. The great problem then became that of reaching the 
Pacific Coast, across the barriers of the Rocky and Sierra Navada mountains, 
and in spite of the great difficulties due to the wide expanse of wilderness 
desert which lay in the way. American engineers accomplished the first .solu- 
tion of this pi'oblem in 1869, -when the opening of the Union and Central Pacific 
Railroads completed the first transcontinental railway. In America there are 
now many transcontinental lines along different parallels of latitude, and one 
has been constructed across South America by Chile and the Argentine Re- 
public. A project has been put forward, and has received serious considera- 
tion, extending as far as preliminary surveys, for the construction of a Pan 
American railway, running north and south the length of the American Con- 
tinent. Abi'oad, the Tran.s-Siberian Railway, 4000 miles in length opened in 
1901, constitutes the world's longest railway'. Engineei-s have constructed 
raihvay nets in every country of importance on the glol)e. Just now the Cape 
to Cairo Raihvay in Africa seems clestined to accomplish a work in opening 
up the "Dark Continent" to civilization which Avill be comparable to the work 
of American railways in the settlement of the West. The important advances 
in i-ailway engineering since 1850 have not, however, l)een confined princi- 
pally to such wonderful acliievements in new construction as we have here 
briefly outlined. In road beds, bridges, signals, brakes and other safety apjili- 
anccs. Icrminals, and especially in motive power, the achievements have i)een 
fully as remarkable. 

Street Railways arc almost entirely the develoimient of the jiei'iod since 
18.50. Beginning in New York City in 1831 with horse traction, they rapidly 
extended, after 1852, to all the principal cities of the world. Cable' railways 
were introduced in San Francisco in 1875, and for several years were quite 
extensively used for very heavy traffic, or to climb very steep grades. Be- 
ginning in 1883, the electric railway started a development which within 
twenty years practically displaced all other motive power for street raihvays. 
The difficulties of operatinf>' surface railways on the crowded streets of large 
cities, led to the introduction of elevated railways in Xew York City in 1872, 
and of subways in London in 1860-1884. Both subways and elevated rail- 
ways have been developed extensively in these and other great modern cities. 

In Tunnel Engineering, though tunneling is of very ancient oriiiin. and 
though especially important tunnel woi'ks had already been carried thi-ouirh 
in the twenty-five years preceding, the achievements since 1850 far ecliji-se 
all that had been accomplished previously. In America the Iloosac Tnunel. 
4 3-4 miles long, built in 1854-1876 to afford Xew Enulaud a direct railwav 



20 

outlet to Albany, was the precursor of many railway tunnels. In Europe, 
however, the Alphine tunnels Avere much greater undertakings. There have 
been four of these completed, betwen 1857 and 1906, the greatest and latest 
being the Simplon, 12 1-4 miles long. These give direct railway communica- 
tion between Italy and France and Switzerland. During recent years, we 
have seen at New York tunnel engineering of the highest type in progress 
on a great scale, and a very difficult piece of such work is just completed at 
Detroit. 

In Bridge Engineering the advance has been very rapid during the last sixty 
years. The years immediately following 1850 saAv the rapid scientific develop- 
ment of bridge trusses, and their construction by the shops on an ever larger 
and larger scale. INlany varieties of trasses have been devised and suc- 
cessfidly applied to special conditions. The suspension type of bridge has 
been employed for long spans on a great scale. The Niagara Suspension 
Bridge in 1855, the Brooklyn Suspension Bridge, of 1595 feet span, in 1883," 
and the Williamsburg Bridge, also at New York City, of 1600 feet span, are 
notable examples. The suspension type has the advantage of not requiring 
false work during erection. The cantilever type of bridge has been developed 
as a substitute, preferred in many cases, for the suspension type. At Niagara, 
the second great railway bridge, completed in 1883, was a cantilever. The 
Forth Bridge, over the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh, in Scotland, the 
world's greatest bridge, is a cantilever structure. It was completed in 1890. 
There are tw^o 1700 foot spans. The Quebec Bridge, which failed so disas- 
trously, was a cantilever, and was to have had a span of 1800 feet. The 
Blackwell's Island Bridge, recently completed in New York City, is another 
notable cantilever. The steel arch has also been developed since 1850 as a 
design often preferred for great bridges. The Eads Bridge over the Missis- 
sippi at St. Lotiis in 1874, the Niagara Railway Arch in 1897, and the Garabit 
Arch in Southern France, built in 1884 by M. EifEel, are famous examples. 
The American raihvay viaduct is another type of bridge developed since 1850. 
A notable example is the Boone Viaduct, a double track structure half a 
mile long and 180 feet high, carrying the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
over the Des Moines River. The last sixty years have seen the substitution, 
first, of wrought iron for wood, in bridge construction, and second, of steel 
for wrought iron. We are now witnessing the extending use of reinforced 
concrete, and other types of permanent masonry, in place of steel in many 
cases for bridge construction. 

Structural Engineering, as distinguished from bridge engineering, is main]\- 
a development since 1850. Steel is applied on a very large scale to building 
and shop construction, to piers, and cai'go handling machinery, head works 
for mines and scores of other uses requiring scientific design by the structural 
engineer. Tlie steel skeleton ty])e of Imilding is a late development, as is also 
the use of tih' fire piootiiig, aud reinforc<'<l concrete floor, column and building 
construction. 

Many of the developments of modern engineering have been due to the 
extensive concentration of population in cities, and the consequent creation 
lof new engineering jn-oblems of vital im])ortance. Hence City Engineering 
has had a rapid development in recent years. The city engineer needs to be 
competent to take charge of many lines of engineering Avork. ^Mention may 
be made of accurate surveying, the estal)lishment of street grades, and of 
water supply, seAverage and paving. In paving, the period since 1850 has 
seen the introduction of asphalt, brick, creosoted blocks, bitulithie i)aving, 
and concrete, as ucav types of surface materials, and of eimcrete on a large 
scale for foundations, crossings and sidcAvalks. 

Since 1850 Mining Engineering has accomplished nuieh to make mining a 
more certain, more profitable, more pleasant and .safer occupation, though 
ve-'y much still remains to be accomjilished along these lines. Xcav explosives, 
new drilling, excavating, ti*ansporting, hoisting, and separating apparatus 
have been dcA-ised and applied on an extensive scale. Electricity has been 



21 

made use of for light aud power. Shafts have been sunk to greater depths, 
and levels driven over greater areas than were ever before ])ossible. More 
efficient and mox'e powerful pumping machinery has been installed, and great 
drainage tunnels, many miles in length, have been driven to remove drainage 
water by gravity. New iind extremely ingenious and scientific methods and 
appliances for extracting the metals from the ore have been invented and 
applied. Magnetism has been used to concentrate low grade iron ores. The 
steam dredge has taken the place of the old placer miners to obtain the gold 
from the gravels of our western coast rivers. The period from 1848 to 1910 
has witnessed successively the discovery of gold in California in 1848, and in 
Australia in 1851. of the Comstock Silver lode in Nevada in 1859, of diamonds 
in South Africa in 1860, of the gold mines of the Witwatersrand in South 
Africa in 1885, and of the discovery of gold in Alaska in 189(i. Each of these 
discoveries has had a very great effect in bringing about the extension of 
civilization to before unknown and barbarous or savage etmntries. 

Peti'oleum and natural gas ai'e two practically new and extremely im- 
portant mineral products which mining engineering has given the world 
since 1850. 

Ceramic Engineering deals with all the silicate industi-ies of which the 
making of brick, tile, pottery and other burned clay ]n-0(lucts. jind the manu- 
facture of cement, are the most familiar examples. The )naking of hi-iek and 
pottery dates from prehistoric times, but only since 1850 has it l)een put on a 
scientific basis. Cement was known somewhat prior to 1850, but only since 
that date have its manufacture and use been developed on a large scale. 
Since 1880, especially, its use has been growing by leaps and bounds. Only 
within a few years have courses in Ceramic Engineering been offei-ed in the 
schools. 

The growing neees.sity for conservation of natural resources is now giving 
special importance to the scientific development of mining and ccM-amic 
engineefing. 

Metallurgical Engineering has marked another important landmark in the 
world's pi"Ogress by the invention and successful development, in the i)eriod 
since 1850, of the electric furnace. By its aid. and that of other new scientific 
advances, metallurgy has given us many new metals and alloys. Probably 
the most noteworthy is aluminum, which has been manufactured on a success- 
ful commercial basis for the past twenty years. At any time some new cheap 
method of producing aluminum may be discovered, and may have the effect 
of making it the long heralded substitute for iron and steel for construction 
work. Electro metallui-gy is a modern development of metalhn-gy. which 
seems to have most -wonclerful and almost limitless possibilities. 

The metallui'gy of Iron and Steel has made very great advance during the 
period that Ave are now considering. In 1856 to 1858 Sir Henry Bessemer 
made known and developed the Bessemer process of making steel, and there- 
by so reduced the cost tluit in 1882 the saving represented an animal total of 
$1,000,000,000 in England alone. About 1867 William Siemens successfully 
applied the principle of the regenerative gas furnace to the numufaclure of 
steel, and hereby inti-odiu-ed the open hearth process. In 1878-9 Sidney 
Thomas and P. (-. Gilchrest demonstrated and gave practical development to 
the "basic'' method of renu)ving the phosi)horus, from hiirhly jihosphorie ores. 
Since 1850 blast furnaces have been growing larger and larger, and the use 
of labor saving devices and i)owerful machinery in connection with steel 
manufacture more extensive. Of very recent date is the actual use of the 
electric furnace for making steel, and al.so the production of extra fine grades 
of iron and steel. The special demand for extra fine grades of iron and steel 
lias now become veiy great on account of the recently developed electrolytic 
theory of corrosion. 

The demands for power have become so gi-eat. and the methods of develop- 
ing power so scientific, that Power Plant Engineering requires' special i)repa- 
ration and experience at the present time. 



22 

The same is true of Factory Engineering. ]\Iauy modern factories cover 
scores of acres each with their buildings. The modem factory requires care- 
ful and scientific planning and supervision of operation, both as to the general 
design and as to each detail. 

Manufactures and Arts have developed since 1850 as never before in the 
"World's history. The old manufactures have been extended to undreamed 
of magnitudes. The myriad new inventions of each year require new develop- 
ment of manufactures. The scientific curiosities and luxuries of one decade 
become the most nseful and powei'ful machines and the common necessities 
of life in the next. 

Chemical Engineering- has develoi)ed into a separate branch of the profes- 
sion, with special courses of study in the engineering schools. This branch 
of engineering has in charge many manufactures of vital importance in con- 
nection with the necessities of life, besides being responsible for the manu- 
facture of all chemicals, and chemicals are necessities in all the arts. 

The recent enormously extensive development of the use of Agricultural 
Machinery on the farm, has made one man today the equivalent, in point of 
Avork done, of several men in 1850. This development besides greatly stimu- 
lating manufactures and commerce, directly atfects the world's food supply 
in a most vital way. It has been a very important factor in the great move- 
ment of population into cities and tOAvns. 

Undoubtedly the most spectacular, and among the most useful engineering 
achievements since 1850, have been those directly connected with Electricity. 
Advance in knowledge of the actual nature of electricity has been slow. We 
are still ignorant of the real nature of this great agent which is so important 
in modern life. It is interesting to note that the latest ideas of matter sur- 
mise that its atoms may l)e composed of very small subdivisions, called elec- 
trons, eacli charged Avith. or composed of electricity, and that this is prac- 
tically a return to the one fluid theory of Franklin, but with the idea that 
the fluid is negative rather than positive. The present day ideas of the nature 
of electricity are vitally connected with the latest ideas concerning the physi- 
cal construction of matter. However, the main progress in our knowledge of 
electricity since 1850 has been in connection with its practical applications for 
the use and convenience of man. These ])ractical applications have been made 
almost entirely during the period we are considering, though the scientific 
foundation Avork, Avhich Avas their necessary precurscn-. had been in active 
progress for some time previous. 

The credit for the Electric Telegraph is usually given mainly to S. F. B. 
Morse. AA'hose Avork extended over many years. The date of 1841:. Avhen he 
first piTt into successful ojjeration the telegraph line from Washington to 
Baltimore, is usually taken as that of the achievement of the electric tele- 
graph, but most of the actual construction of telegraph lines has been carried 
out since 1850, and the early imperfect telegraph has been developed, by 
many improvements, into the perfect modern telegraph. The telegraph noAV 
covers the globe and forms an indispensable agency of life. The first Trans- 
Atlantic cable Avas laid in 1858. but Avas not fully successful. The second Avas 
completed in 1865. Of very recent date has been the development of Wireless 
Telegraphy, AA-hich is still going on so I'apidly. 

The ten years from 1875 to 1885 Avere jierhaps the most notable of any Avhieh 
have yet elapsed in the history of Electrical Engineering, for they saAv the 
practical development of the dynamo, the electi-ic motor, the electric light, 
the electric raihvay and the telephone, together Avith the first establishment 
of sepai-ate courses of study in electrical engineering, and the formation of a 
national society of electrical engineers. These ten years may be said to haA'e 
sufficed to establish electrical engineering as a separate branch of the en- 
gineei'ing profession. 

After the telegra]>h. the next successful achieA'ement of electrical engineer- 
ing Avas that of Electric Power, through the successful development of the 
dvnamo and the electric motor for generating electricitv and for reconverting 



23 

it into power. Though work had beeu progressing for several years pi-evioiis, 
yet since 1880 progress has been esjieeially rapid in this line, and, besides 
most efficient and powerful genex-ating apparatus, and motors convenient and 
efficient for every service, has also included the development of transmission 
lines, by which electric power may now be transmitted economically for dis- 
tances as great as 100 to 200 miles. 

The development of electric power resulted in the immediate development 
of Electric Lighting, Avhich had already Ijeen the subject of study and experi- 
ment for many years. First the arc light, as worked out by several men. and 
then the incandescent lamp of Edison, were speedily and successfully devel- 
oped on a commercial scale after 1880. The introduction of electricity into 
the field of illumination, following the previous great development of gas il- 
lumination, after its invention near the close of the 18th century, did much 
to put this subject on a scientific basis, and now Illumination Engineering is 
coming to be recognized as a separate branch of engineering. (3ui' own Iowa 
State College has just received the commendation of technical joiu-nals for be- 
ing first to recognize the new branch of the profession in a departnu^ntal title, 
by the establishment of the department of Physics and Ilhuuinating Engineer- 
ing, Avitli separate scientific work in illumination. 

The Electric Railway, as already stated, was first successfully operated in 
1883, and within 20 years practically disi)laced all other forms of ti-action for 
street railways. It has also had extensive development, which is still going 
on more and more rapidly every day, for interurban railways. It {'xeu seems 
quite possible that electricity may come to displace the steam locomolives on 
some of our trunk railways in the not distant future. 

The Telephone, as a successful apparatus, is usually credited to Alexander 
Graham Bell. Avhose first great success was attained in 1876. Its use has ex- 
tended over the entii-e world since that date, and the importance of fhe tele- 
phone in both city and country life can be hardly overestimated. Wireless 
Telephony is still in a somewhat more experimental stage than wii'eless 
telegraphy, but promises much for the near future. 

Military Engineering has beeu almost entirely revolutionized since 1850 by 
many developments: Of the l)reech loader, the repeater and the automatic 
gun: of improvements in ammnniticm. including the fixed cartridge and smoke- 
less powder; of modei-n high i)owei-ed and quick firing artillery: of mines and 
torpedoes for defense and attack. To meet the attack of such weapons, steel 
armor has been applied to war ships, and again and again inqiroved. and new 
methods of fortification have been devised for land defense. Most extensive 
use is made in modern military engineering of the telegraph, telephone, elec- 
tric and steam poAver. of modern methods of transportation, of the latest im- 
provements in sanifation, and in fact, broadly speaking, of all the great 
engineering advances of modern times. 

Architecture has made its greatest modern achievements in designing and 
constructing a multitude of great buildings adapted to modern needs, con- 
structed in many instances of new oi- comparatively new stnu-tiiral materials. 
Architecture has not as yet developed ncAv styles of architecture suited to the 
new modern conditions. While the achievements of the architect have been 
therefore great, as j-egards rpiantity and magnitude, they have fallen far bo- 
hind those of earlier ages in ])oint of artistic achievement. 

CIIAI'TER II. 
ENGINEERING. 

13. In Chapter I. after some introductory discussion, we made a brief sum- 
mary siu'vey of the entire History of Engineering. Chapter II will be devoted 
to a general discussion of engineering and its field. 

14. Definition of Engineering. IMany definitions of engineering have been 
proposed, several of which will be given in Article 18. By far the best and 



24 

most authoritative is the one which was incorporated in the charter of the 
British Institution of Civil Engineers. This definition -will be adopted through- 
out these lectures. It is as follows : 

Engineering is the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for 
the use and convenience of man. 

Carefiil study of this definition and comparison of it with others has con- 
vinced the author of these lectures more and more that it is the best definition 
which has yet been proposed. In the original definition, the term Civil En- 
gineering was used instead of Engineering, but in the progress of engineering 
since 1827 the profession has been subdivided, so that Civil Engineering has 
a more limited meaning now than formerly. 

The above definition should have all the greater authority because of the 
fact that it was incorporated in the constitution of the first great engineering 
society, whose establishment, in 1818. marked, in itself, a decisive point in 
the change of engineering from a trade to a pi'ofession. The definition should 
be credited to Tredgold. one of that great group of British engineers who 
lived in the latter part of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th. 
In 1827 Mr. Tredgold was asked by the Council of the Society to "give a 
description of what a civil engineer is.'' to incorporate in a petition for a 
chartei". In the charter of the Institution, the following words are added to 
those given above: "as the means of production and of traffic in states both 
for external and internal trade as applied in the construction of bridges, aqua- 
ducts, canals, river navigation and docks, for internal intercourse and ex- 
change and in the construction and adaptation of machinery and the drainage 
of cities and towns." These added words really detract from the definition 
and serve to show how limited engineering was at tliat time, as compared 
with the present day. 

A detailed study of the definition adopted above confirms the idea of its 
correctness and comprehensiveness. 

For example, taking up the exact wording of the definition, we come, first. 
to the term "art." Engineering is an art* rather than a science; for although 
it is based directly iipon the principles of physical science, it does not stop 
with the simple acquirement of the knowledge of tliose principles, but is de- 
voted especially to the art of making actual applications of them in the affairs 
of civilization. 

The definition goes on fiu'ther to say that engineering is the art of "direct- 
ing" the great sources of power in Nature for the use and convenience of 
man. Since the engineer must direct these great sources of power, it is neces- 
sary that he should be qualified to direct, and the u^e of this term in the defini- 
tion requires engineering to be a profession rather than a trade. The crafts- 
man of a trade must have skill to do the manual work of his trade, but need 
not have the comprehensive training necessary to direct. Not so Avith the 
engineer; he must be qualified to be a member of a real profession. 

The scope of engineering is Avell indicated by the term "the great sources 
of power in nature," and by the fact that these are to be directed "for the 
use and convenience of man." The discussion of this scope, however, is worthy 
of a separate article. 

15. The Scope of Engineering. As has already been stated, the scope of 
engineering is well indicated by the definition given in Article 14, namely that 
"Engineering is the art of directing fltf qrcal ^ourccsi of power in Xaturc far 
the iise and convenience of man." The term "the great sources of power in 
Xaturc" manifestly includes, all those principles of science xvhich : first, ard 
vitally concerneel with the action of forces on hoclics; or, second, have cspe- 
ci'aTl)/ to (ilo witli ike properties of nmtcnals of construction. The .reciuSre- 
ment tliat these jirinciples of science are to be directed "for the use and con- 

*Karslake. as quoted in Webster's Dictionary, has stated the distinction between an "art" 
and a "science" as follows : "In science scimus vt scimmis (we Itnow that we may know) ; In 
art. soimns iit piodnciannis (we know that we may produce). Therefore science and art may be 
said to be invest ieat ions of truth, but science inquires for the sake of knowledge, art for the 
sake of production." , 



25 

venuncc of man" specifies- the field of engineering as including all useful appli- 
cations of the above principles of science. 

The field of engineering, thus specified, is very broad and very fundamental 
to civilization. "While engineering, being the art of directing these great 
sources of power in Nature, rather than simply of working in them, is far 
above the work of the artisan and the mechanic, yet it necessarily includes 
the work of all artisans and mechanics. It includes, for example, the Avork 
of the lowest savage Avho ever fashioned the rudest implement from stone or 
any other material, just as much as it includes the work of the highly skilled 
mechanician of the pi*esent day Avho builds a modern locomotive. It includes 
the earliest use of human and animal power, as well as the latest develop- 
ments in steam and electricity. It includes the construction of the first rude 
hut, and of the latest forty story sky scraper. It includes eveiw handicraft 
Avhich has been developed by the human race, in so far as such handicraft 
may require the use of any physical material, or tool or implement of any 
description. It includes all manufactures, all transportation, all communica- 
tion of intelligence by mechanical appliances. It also includes the work of 
scientists of all ages, in so far as discoveries of science have resulted at all 
in the useful applications of the laws of forces, the use of physical materials 
of construction, or the use of tools or implements of any description, or any 
other use of the principles of mechanics for the benefit of man. The field of 
engineering is, therefore, very broad, and. Avhile engineering itself has not 
been recognized as a profession until recent years, yet its history must extend 
back to prehistoric times. 

16. Derivation of the words Engine, Engineer, and Engineering. It will 
bo of interest and value to trace the origin of the words, engine, engineer. p,nd 
engineering. Clear statements of these derivations will be found in the Cen- 
tury and Webster's Dictionaries, as -well as elsewhere. The editions here 
quoted are those of 1889 and 1890. The best discussiou of the origiii of thf^ 
name of our profession, however, will be found in the life of Sii- William 
Fairbairn, written by the late Dr. William Pole. Secretary of the British In- 
stitution of Civil Engineers, abridged and quoted in the appendix to the 
President's address of James Charles Inglis, Nov. 2. 1909. See Proceedings 
of tlie Institute of Civil Engineers, ^'^ol. 179. pages 16, 17 and 18. 

The above abridgement gives so clear and concise a discussion of the subject 
that it will be inserted here verbatim. 

'"The term engineer, as defining an occupation, is an old one; but it was 
originally applied only to persons in the military profession, and does not 
appear to have been used l)y civilians until the middle of thv> last (i. e. 
eighteenth) century. 

''The root of both the words. Engineer and Engine, is found in the San.scrit 
jdtt, to lie Itorn. from wiiich came the Cireek form yev , and the Latin gen. 
flu- latter being embodied in the old verb rjoirrc. with its coinpound. inqcnere 
(changed into iiifjigiicrc). to implant by birth, and in the latter substantive 
iiufcn'uDn, an innate or natural ciuality. 

'"The old Latin vei-bs, (jfiitiu and iiif/(U()-<. gave rise to a French form, 
also a verb, s'inf/nmr. This is of great anticjuity, and from ils comprehensive 
and useful meaning it has continued in use down to the i)resent time, being 
found continually in modern French writings. The import of it has nothing 
whatever to do Avith engines or machines, but is purely psychological. It is 
given in Littre's great French dictionary: 

('Ik rclif r dans son gfnic, clans son espril, (inthpc inoiu n pour x'tissir. 

"Now all a\ithorities, iticluding our own great Lexicographer, asrree that 
this word is the true origin of the Avoi'd engineer, and thus we arrive at the 
interesting and certainly little-known fact that an Phigineer is, according to 
the strict derivation of the term, not necessarily a person Avho has to do with 
engines, but anyone who seeks in his mind; who sets his mental power in 
action, in order to discover or devise some means of succeeding in a ditficidt 
task he may have to perform. 



26 

"It would be impossible to give a nobler or more appropriate description 
than this of the manner in which our greatest engineering works have been 
produced, or the nature of the qualifications by which the greatest men in 
the profession have accpiired their renown. 

"The use of the word in England is almost as old as on the Continent; for 
in the wardrobe account of King Edward I, A. D. 1300, occur expenses paid 
to several engineers for military artificers' work; and in 1344 it is stated that 
321 artificers and engiueei's were borne on the liooks of the Ordnance. 

Coming down to Queen Elizabeth's time, we find the term used by Shak- 
spere. Writing about 1602, he makes Hamlet say (Second Quarto, 1604) : 
"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer 
Hoist with his owne petar, an 't shall goe hard 
But I will delue one yard belowe their mines, 
And blowe them at the Moone. 

"A few years later, in 'Troilus and Cressida.' Thersites is made to say 
(Folio, 1623) : 

"Then there's Achilles, a rare Enginer. If 
Troy be not taken till these two undermine it, 
The walls will stand till they fall of themselues 

"But there is another very remarkable passage where Shakspere xises the 
word, not in the sense of director of engines, but with the meaning before 
meutioned, 'Cherchei' dcois son genie/ It is in Othello (Folio. 1623) : 
"He hath atchieu'd a Maid 
That paragons description, and wilde Fame ; 
One that excels the (juirkes of Blazoning pens, 
And in th' essentiall A^'esture of Creation, 
Do 's tyre the Ingeniuer. 

"It is remarkable too that in this place there is an approximation to the 
French original Avord ingenieur. 

"In Cotgrave's French and English Dictionary Kill the word inginieur is 
translated 'engineer, engine-maker, fortifier.' 

"An Engineer, therefore, Avas. according to the most common acceptation 
of the term, a i)erson in military service, Avhose business it Avas, not only to 
direct Avarlike engines or Aveapons (a duty transferred at a later period to the 
artillery officer), but to undertake the design and construction of fortifica- 
tions, siege-Avorks, roads, bridges, buildings, machinery, and all other Avorks 
for military service Avhich required knoAvledge, experience, and skill in the 
arts of construction. 

"Down to a recent period, the title iCngineer Avas never applied to the con- 
structors of similar Avorks in civil life; yet the construction of such works gen- 
erally has existed from time immemorial. 

"From the nature of the engineering AVorks carried out by the Egyptians, 
Greeks and Romans, Ave may be fully convinced that they Avere designed by 
men well acquainted Avith the philosophical principles current in their era; 
and as a matter of practice, hoAV excellentl.y they Avere done is testified by 
the manner in Avhieh they have stood the ravages of time. We may indeed 
doubt Avhether thei-e are many engineering AVorks of the jn-esent day Avhich 
AvilL at the end of tlu)usands of years, make as favorable an appearance as 
those of the ancients do noAV. 

"About the tAvelfth century, attention became .strongly directed in France 
to the internal communications of the countiy. and an association Avas formed 
under the name of the "Freres Pontiers" (Brethren of the Bridge), Avith the 
object of building bridges Avlierever rivers Avere dangerous or difficult to ford. 
They extended branches over all parts of Nortliern Europe, and executed 
great numbers of important Avorks, some of Avhich still exist : j^--- for example, 
the Old Bridge at Lyons, and another eele])rated one over the Rhone at Saint 
Esprit, neai-ly half a mile long. The first stone T^ondon Bridge Avas also erected 
by them. This bod.x- is ])ei'liai»s the earliest examph^ of a definite, though small 
class of persons, expressly devoting themselves to civil Avorks of an engineer- 
ing character, and they might Avell liave called themselves a Soeietv of Civil 
Engineers had the name been in existence at that period. 



27 

"It Avas not till some centuries later that the constructors of large civil 
works became such an important class as to require a special distinguishing 
technical name, and, just as the Freres Pontiers owed their incorporation to 
the wants of the roads of France, so the later and more important body were 
brought into existence by the needs of the rivers of Italy. 

"When the Italian Republics, in the twelfth century, revived the arts and 
sciences, they took measures to regulate and open the navigation by rivers 
long neglected, particularly on the Po and the Mincio. Three centuries later, 
Leonardo da Vinci added to his already great fame by the promotion of ex- 
tensive works of navigation, and especially by his introduction of locks (in- 
vented by the brothers Viterbo in 1481) on the Milanese canals. 

'"About the commencement of the seventeenth century, the great rivers in 
the North of Italy appear to have relapsed into a very bad state, and the 
consequence was felt in disastrous inundations. The inhabitants of the dis- 
tricts became alarmed, and the most learned scientific men of the day were 
consulted as to how the evils might be remedied. To this impulse we owe 
a series of valuable theoretical and experimental studies, which lasted for a 
eenturv' and a half, and ultimately formed a thorough basis for hydraulic 
science and practice. 

"The knowledge thus acquired spread rapidly throughout Europe, and gave 
a great impulse to hydraulic operations. But now arose a want of competent 
men to execute them. The ai-chiteets, who had formerly undertaken con- 
structive works generalh', found these new studies somewhat foreign to their 
own business, and were moreover already Avell occupied in their more legiti- 
mate employment. Hence a new class of practitioners was called for. Avho 
should devote their attention to hydraulic constructions, with all their neces- 
sary mechanical arrangements; and with these soon became associated con- 
structive works which did not eml^odj- the artistic element, and might there- 
fore be fairly dissociated from the profession of the architect. Thus the new 
class of men undertook to design not only river and hydraulic works, but 
roads, bridges, docks, harbours, mills, and machinery, and massive buildings 
generally. Such a class required a new name, and this was easily found. It 
could not fail to be noticed that the kind of work undertaken by these practi- 
tioners was exactly analogous to that allotted to the "Engineers" of the 
military service, and the new profession therefore adopted the same title, pre- 
fixing, however, the word "Civil," to indicate that they were civilians, and 
so to distinguish them from their military brethren. 

"Hence the origin of the term civil engineer, its true meaning being a per- 
son who devotes himself to occupations of the kind originally practiced by 
military engineers, but who belongs to the civil and not to the military 
community. 

"It is probable that Smeaton was the first civil practitioner (if not abso- 
lutely, at least in England), who formally denominated himself an "Engineer.'" 
A repoi't he made, dated July 11, 1761, on a canal in Staffordshire, is entitled: 

"Report by John Smeaton. Engineer, concerning the practicability, etc.. of 
a navigable canal as projected by ^Ir. James Brindley, Engineer. 

"He here awards the same title to his coadjutor, but there is no evidence 
that Brindley himself had previously used the term. 

"Smeaton had also the good sense to see the difficulty that this appellation 
might place him in, as pretending to a.ssume a title hitherto only belonging 
to military men. and it Avas he Avho accordingly first adopted the jirefix '•('ivil" 
to aA'oid all appearance of collision. Ho. however, only adonted the com]ioun(l 
term on state occasions, usiuiUy styling himself simply "Engineer." 

"It is pleasant to think that the name, now become so common to denote 
a civil practitioner in engineering Avork. Avas originated and bestowed ujion 
the profession by one of its members so thoroughly accomplished and so highly 
esteemed." 

The Century Dictionary sIa'cs the foJloAving meaning for the word "en- 
gine," the definitions being the same, practically, as those given in Webster's. 
1. Anything of natural ability: inirenuity: craft: skill. f"ITe does't by en- 



28 

gine and devices'' — Ben Johnson). 2. An artificial device or contrivance; a 
skilfully devised plan or method; a subtle artifice. ("Therefore this craftie 
engine did he frame." — Spencer). 3. An instrumental agent or agency of 
any kind ; anything used to effect a purpose ; an instrumentality. 4. An ap- 
paratus for producing some mechanical effect, especially a skilled mechanical 
contrivance ; used in a very general way. 

The three meanings given by Webster's Dictionary to the word "engineer" 
are as follows: 1. A person skilled in the principles and practice of any 
branch of engineering. 2. One who manages an engine, particularly a steam 
epgine ; an engine driver. 3. One who carries through an enterprise by skill- 
ful or artificial contrivances; an efficient manager. 

It is unnecessary to give a separate discussion to the word, "engineering." 
In this connection it may be noted that more or less confusion has arisen, 
from the double use of the word "engineer" to indicate, first, a member of 
the engineering profession, and second, an engine driver, the latter being^ 
simply a highly skilled mechanic. At various times it has been proposed to 
do away with the double use of the word, but custom in this particular is 
entirely too strong to be overcome by the wishes of the engineering profession. 

17. The Meaning of the Word "Engineering" as Indicated by the Deriva- 
tion of the 'Word "Engine." The outline of the derivation of the words 
"engine," "engineer," and "engineering," given in Article 16, may help to 
give a eoi'rect idea of the inherent meaning of the terms. 

First. They involve the ideas of aliility. ingenuity and genius as essential 
features of the qualifications of the engineer. 

Second. They involve the idea of the use in some engineering work of an 
engine, that is, of any sort of mechanical contrivance. 

Engineers may feel proud that the very name of their profession signifies 
unusual skill and training as essential requisites of the profession. In homely 
words, this principle has been stated as follows: "An engineer is a man who 
can do Avith one dollar what the ordinary man might effect with two dollars." 

IS. Encyclopedia and Dictionary Definitions of Engineering. It will be of 
interest to study other definitions of engineering than the one adopted in 
Article 14, and especially such definitions as have been published in standard 
reference books. The definitions given in such books haA'e been carefully 
worded to show the best usage at the time they were published, and while 
they may be under the great disadvantage of not having been criticised by a 
member of the engineering profession, yet much of interest concerning the 
engineering profession can be learned fi'om them. 

Encfjcloprdia Britainiica Depmiion. EdiHon of 1S'>'>. In this early edition 
of the Encyclopedia Britanniea, we have the following definitions: 

"Engineer properly signifies a person who is employed in devising and con- 
structing engines or machines and in directing their applications." "Military 
Engineer is an officer whose Imsiness it is to delineate ]ilans and to direct the 
formation of military works and to regulate attacks and defenses." "Civil 
Engineer is one who applies the principles of mechanical and physical phil- 
osophy to the construction of the machines and public works \)\ which the 
arts and conditions of civil life are rendered more efficient, extensive and 
secure." From the above definitions, we may infer that in 1855 only two 
branches of the engineering profession Avere recognized, namely, military and 
civil engineering. 

Encj/clnprdia Briiannua Difinifioii, Edilian of 1S76. In this later edition 
we have the folloAving definitions : 

Engineering: "Tlie art of designing and constructing Avorks. " The fol- 
lowing branches are recognized in the definition, each including special lines 
of work, as follows: CiA'il Engineering — canals, river navigation, harbors, 
docks, roads, bridges, raihvays. lighthouses. Avater supply, irrigation. sCAver- 
age. gas supjjly. telegraphs, etc ^leclianical Engineering — machinery, mill 
work, steam engines, iron ship building, agricultural implements, etc. Mininc 
Engineering — Avorking and raising of coal, iron, lead, copper and other min- 
erals. Military Engineering — fortifications, gunnery, artillery, telegraphy, etc.. 
for war. 



29 

Century Didionury Definitionis, Edition of ISS'.i: 

Engineering: "The art of eoustx'uctinj>- or using engines or uiaeliines; the 
art of constructing civil or military works which require an especial knowl- 
edge or use of machinery or principles of mechanics."' In connection with this 
definition, mention is inade of civil engineering, electrical engineering, hy- 
draulic engineering, mechanical or dynamic engineering, mining engineering, 
naval engineering and military engineering. 

Fi'om the ahove definitions we can readily trace the gradual development 
uf engineering from the years 1855 to 1889. In 1855. manifestly, there were 
only two branches, namely military and civil engineering, while by 1889 the 
profession had been subdivided into all the princijial In-anches at present 
recognized. 

19. Definition of Architecture. Since prehistoric times, architecture has 
liad a very intimate connection with engineering, and it is therefore desirable 
that the exact meaning of the term architecture and the exact relationship of 
architecture to engineering should receive careful consideration. 

The word "architecture" comes from a (ireek woi-d meaning rJi'Kf artificer, 
master hnilder. 

The Webster Dielionarij definition e>f arclnleciurc is as follows: "The art 
or science of building; especially the art of building houses, churches, bridges 
and other stnictm*es for the purposes of civil life; often called civil archi- 
tecture. 2. ]\Iethod or style of biiilding; characterized by certain peculiari- 
ties of structure, ornamentation, etc. 8. Construction in a very general 
sense: frame or structui-e: workmajiship." 

According to this general delinitiou. then, ai-chitecture originally meant 
simply the art of building. 

Of later years an added mejining has beoi given to the term, when \\se-(\ as 
the name of a profession, and this later meaning has well been stated in the 
Eiicj/eJopedia Britainiica Definiiion, Edition uf 1878. as follows: 

Architecture "is the art of liuilding according to principles whieh are de- 
termined, not merely by the ends the edifice is intended to serve, but by con- 
siderations of beauty and harmony. It eannot be defined as the ai-t of build- 
ing, simply, or even of building well. The end of building, as such, is con- 
venience, use. irrespective of apiiearance. and the emi)l(tyinent of materials to 
this end is regulated by the mechanical ])i-iiu'ii)les of consti'uctive art. The 
end of architecture, on the othei- hand, is so to arrange the plan, nuisses and 
enrichment of the structure as to imi)art to it intei-est. beauty, grandeur, unity 
and power." 

This definition very clearly states one of the pi'ime i'e(|uisites of architecture 
as a profession, namel.v. that the design shall be in accord with the best ar- 
tistic principles, and not merely such as to serve the end of utilit.v. 

20. The Relation of Architecture to Engineering-. Study of the above defi- 
nitions will indicate that to some extent ai'chitectiu'e and engineering overlap. 

Engineering includes all use of nu'chanical principles, and these ai-e abso- 
lutely necessary in the ai-f of building, hence, engineering is necessarily a i)art 
of architecture. Also architecture itichules essentially the application of ar- 
tistic principles to the design of structures, while such application of artistic 
principles is not essential to engineering. In this sense, lluu-efore. ai-chitec- 
tnre, is not necessarily included under engineering. 

On the other hand, engineering includes many sorts of constructifHi not in- 
cluded under the general head of ai-chitecture. and includes many uses of 
mechanical principles and appliances which could hardl.v be considered as 
constructive. Engineering is, therefoi-e. a broader term than architecture, 
and includes architecture as one out of many api>licati()ns of mechanical prin- 
ciples and contrivances. 

For thousands upon thousands of years, beginning with prehistoric times 
and extending down to within a verv recent period, there was practically no 
distinction betw-een ai-chitecture and engineering. For example, in an ancient 
Latin work on architect\n-e bv Vitruvius, written in the time of the Roman 



30 

Empire, there are chapters on Water Supply, and Machines, which fact shows 
that these features of present engineering work were considered at that time 
distinctly within the province of architecture. 

In fact during the early history of mankind the construction of great build- 
ings and monuments overshadowed in importance, in public estimation, the 
applications of mechanical science for the use and convenience of man. Hence, 
naturally, the work of the engineer was included, in a sub-ordinate capacity, 
in that of the architect. Only a few hundred years since, even the hydraulic 
engineer was called an "hydraulic architect." 

At the present day, owing to the great development of science and its mul- 
titudinous applications in modern civilization, the profession of engineei-ing 
has grown to be a much greater profession, in point of numbers, at least, than 
that of architecture. In 1901-2 there were 16,433 engineering students en- 
rolled in the United States, and only 386 architectural students. We now 
have engineering as a separate profession from architecture, and engineering 
itself has grown so large as to be subdivided into many branches. 

In fact, at the present time, as it seems to the author of these lectures, too 
wide separation has been made betAveen architecture and engineering. On the 
one hand we have the architectural student, given a comparatively thorough 
training in art, but with only a smattering of engineering training. On the 
other hand we have the engineer, trained almost entirely along utilitarian 
lines, with no instruction in the artistic principles of design. A double mis- 
fortune has resulted. 

On the one hand the architect, no matter what his training along artistic 
lines, can never make the best artistic use of the materials of construction 
until he is thoroughly master of their engineering i^rinciples and of all the en- 
gineering principles which are involved in their use. AYe cannot expect a new 
style of architecture, suited to the conditions of modern times until the archi- 
tect has, first of all, become absolute master of the materials and mechanical prin- 
ciples upon which Ids work must be based, nor until he has ))ecome imbued with 
much of the true spirit of our modern industrial civilization. 

The wider use of structural steel and of reinforced concrete in the building 
of structures, for example, have introduced new principles of constructing, 
to which the architectural styles whicli were developed fen- the stone columns 
of the Greeks and the masonry arches of the Romans and medieval Europeans 
are illy suited. 

Again, the purposes of the great structures required for the commerce, the 
manufactures, the educational in.stitutions, the scientific museums and the 
other great activities of modern civilization, which is so fundamentally based 
on science and technology, cannot be adequately expressed by those styles of 
architecture which represent tlu' ideals of ancient and medieval peoples. 
Even the religious edifices and the governmental buildings of modern times 
.should express to the eye the new ideals of progressive Christianity, the new 
aspirations of intelligent democracy. 

The modern architectural profession should be able to develop new styles 
of architecture to suit modern conditions. It is true that the laws and prin- 
ciples of proportion, harmony, and color and the other principles of art, are 
fixed and unchangeable, .just as much as physical laws, but the application of 
the laws and principles of art to new materials of construction, and to new 
purposes of structures, requires new principles of design, to secure the best 
artistic results. The architect should be given thorough training, therefore, 
in engineering lines. 

It is equaly true that the engineer needs some training in artistic principles 
of design, for there is no reason why utilitarian structures should not be de- 
signed with some reference to their appearance. It will often be found that 
no additional expense is involved in changing an ugly design into one which 
is pleasing to the eye. In the case of important engineering structures, it is 
undoubtedly true that an architect should be associated with the engineer in 
charge, in order that the best results may be secured, both as to utility and 
artistic appearance. The engineer needs some training along artistic lines, 
to make him even aware of the need for the services of the arehitect. 



31 

Similiarly, au architect should have an engineer associated with him in the 
design of important architectural structures, to insure the use of correct en- 
gineering principles of design. 

21. Major Branches of Engineering. As has already been indicated in 
ai'ticle 18, there were only two branches of engineering until a very recent 
time, namely, military and civil engiueeriuir. This was true until al)out 1870. 
Up to that time, civil engineering was a very broad term, including, all 
branches of the profession except those concerned directly with the military 
art. At about 1870, a subdivision of civil engineering was made into three 
branches namely, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and mining engi- 
neering; and at about 1885 electrical engineering was added, as a fourth 
branch of what was formerly called civil engineering. At the present time, 
therefore, there are five ma.jor branches of the profession, namely, military 
engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, 
and electrical engineering. There are many sul)divisi(ms of these major i)ranches. 

22. Militaxy Engineering. Military engineering is that l)i'anch of the engi- 
neering profession which has to do with all ai)plica1ions of foi'ces and mechan- 
ical laws, and of all materials of construetion, to the art of mechanical laws, 
and of all materials of construction, to the art of war. whether on land or on 
sea. It includes fortifications, gunnery, artillery, arnior. mines, torpedoes, war- 
ships, transportation, communication, etc. 

23. Civil Engineering.. Tlic term civil engineering is given tlircc different 
meanings at the ])resent time : 

First, in its broadest meaning, the term civil engineering includes all bran- 
ches of engineering except military. This was the original meatiing. the 
word "civil" being used in contradistinction to "inilitai-y."' 

Second, in its narrowest sense, civil engineering includes only ti^-(f^ struc- 
tures, such as bridges, highways, docks, etc. 

Third, in the commonly accepted meaning, civil engineering includes all 
branches of engineering except military engineering, mehanical engineering, 
mming engineering and electrical engineering. It is this meaning which 
will be adopted throughout these lectures. This definition of civil engineering 
has naturally resulted from the historic development of engineering, by the 
dift'erentation from tinu' to time of .separate branches from wliat was origi- 
nally designated as civil engineering. 

In the accepted meaning, as stated a.bove. civil engineering is a broader 
term than either mechanical, electrical or mining engineering. Each of these 
branches is restricted to some special lines of closely i-elated Avork. Civil 
engineering, on the other haiul. includes many lines of work which are not 
very closely related to each other. 

A prominent civil engineer of the present time. -1. A. L. Waddell of Kan- 
sas City, has stated* that the branches of civil engineering include ''The 
design and construction of bridges: tunnelling, retaining walls, sea walls, 
and other heavy masonry: viaducts: wharves: piei-s: docks, i-iver imiirove- 
ment; harbors and water ways: watei- supply; sewerage: filtration: treat- 
ment of i-efuse; surveying: canals: irri<>ation works: dams; geodetic work: 
surveying; railways, both steam and electric; gas works: manufacturing of 
power, steam, electric, hydraulic and gaseous; general design and construc- 
tion of cranes: cable ways; breakers and other mining structures; the heavier 
structural features of office building and other large buildings that carry 
loads, the general problems of transjiin-tation, (|uai-rying and handling of 
heavy materials; all designing and constriiction of a siniiliar nature." Some 
question nnist be rai.sed as to whether all the al)ov<' branciu's einunerated by 
Mr. Waddell should be included under the head of civil engineering. Special 
objection might be i-aised as to the general inclusion of manufacturing plants, 
which many would place uiuler the head of mechanical and electrical engi- 

itcinationaJ Congif.ss of .\rts .and .Science at the St. Louis E.\- 



32 

neering, and of breakers, and other mining struetares, and the general pro- 
blems of quarrying which many would place under the head of mining engi- 
neering. 

24. Mechanical Engineering. ^Mechanical engineering is that branch of 
the engineering profession which has to deal especially with machinery. 
As it deals with moving apparatus, it is sometimes designated as dynamic 
engineering. 

Dean G. W. Bissell of the IMichigan Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich- 
igan, has suggested the following bi*anches of mechanical engineering. 

Steam engineering, including the design of steam power plants; heating 
and ventilating engineering ;railway motive power engineering ; factory en- 
gineering; gas engineering, including light, fuel and power; maxine engi- 
neering; chemical engineering, in part: agricultural engineering, in part. 

Mr. J. A. L. Waddell includes nnder the head of mechanical engineering 
the folloAving: "The design and construction of steam engines, machin« 
tools, locomotives, hoisting and conveying machinery, cranes of usual type, 
rolling mill machinery, blast furnace machinery, and in fact all machinery 
which is designed for purely manufacturing purposes.'' 

Since the field of mechanical engineei'ing includes in its Avidest sense all 
machinery its field is very broad and important. It is hardly possible to 
exaggerate the greatness of opportunities along the lines of mechanical en- 
gineering in these modem days. 

25. Electrical Engineering. Electrical engineering is that branch of the 
engineering profession which has to do Avith application of electricity. 

Electrical engineering is the youngest of the ma.ior branches of engineer- 
ing. 11^ develojnnents and achievements have been in many respects, among 
the most remarkable of modern civilization. 

Its general nature is well indicated by the following definition from the 
Centtirii Dietionary. published in 18S9. ''Electrical Engineering is the 
science and ai't of utilizing electricity in the production of light, heat, and 
motive power in the transmission and distribution of energy, and in its 
application to a great variety of metallurgical and other purposes. It also 
inchides the science and art of the erection and maintenance of the tele- 
graph, of cable lines, and of electric railway signals." 

Professor Fi.sh has enuinerated the following special branches of electrical 
engineering: Electric railways: electric light and illiunination ; long distance 
electrical transmission; electric machine design; electric power station design; 
storage battery engineering ; telegraphy ; telephony ; electro-chemistry ; electro- 
metallurgy. 

26. Mining Engineering. IMining engineering is that branch of the engi- 
neering profession which has to do especially Avith the mining and quarrying 
of ores, building materials, and other mineral products of the earth, and their 
transformation into the forms in Avhieh they must l)e used b.v other brandies 
of the engineering profession. 

Mining engineering is a branch of the profession Avhich is fundamental to 
all the other branches, since it supplies them Avith the materials of construc- 
tion. Civil engineers, for example, could do nothing Avithout the materials 
used for structures; mechanical engineers, Avithout iron and steel for their 
machines ; electrical engineers, Avithout eoj^per for electrical conductors. 

Mining engineering includes the folloAving branches: Vndergi'onnd mining 
AA'ork, including the construction of shafts and drifts for transjiortation and 
hoisting of ores, drainage of mines, etc. ; roasting ; milling ; stamping and con- 
centration of ores; disposal of mine refuse; (juarrying of building materials; 
metallurgy of iron, steel and other metals; manufacture of cement; manu- 
facture of clay products; etc.. etc. 

The mining and manufacture of clay products, sand. lime, brick and cement 
are at present grouped under the general head of CERA:MICS. 

27. The Interdependence of the Various Branches of Engineering. It 

must be apparent from the above discussions that all tlie various l)ranches of 



33 

engineering are closely interdependent. Attention has already l)een called to 
the importance of mining engineering to all the other branches, in supplying 
them with materials for their work; and mining engineering, itself would be 
useless without the roads and highways, the railways, canals and bridges of 
ci-vil engineering to enable transportation of its products to all portions of 
the earth. Nor could mining be properly carried on in these days without 
the aid of many machines and electrical contrivances which have been con- 
structed by mechanical and electrical engineers. 

Civil engineering and mechanical engineering are inter-related at many 
points. For example, water supply pumping machinery, cast iron pipes, hy- 
drants, valves, power plants for pumping stations, hydraulic plants for gene- 
rating power, steam railways, and many other engineering constructions which 
require both fixed structures and machinery, are instances in which the two 
professions meet. 

Electrical engineering and mechanical engineering have especially close 
relationship. Both deal more especially with machines, the distinction being 
that the electrical engineer has to do only with machines Avhich make a direct 
application of electricity. The close relationship of mechanical engineering 
and electrical engineering is shown by the great similarity of the courses of 
study in these lines in all the best engineering schools. 

Members of the different branches of the engineering profession should 
recognize their extensive interdependence, and should be above all ])etty 
.iealousies of each other. They should in all eases consider themselves as mem- 
bers of the same great profession, lioniul to each other by the xisual pi'ofes- 
sional ties. 

28. The Place of Engineering in the World's Economy. ]ilodern civiliza- 
tion is a very complex develoijuient. Doubtless in the prehistoric past, indi- 
vidual men Avere largely independent of their neighbors, but in modern society 
each man is dependent for the necessities of his daily life upon the systematic 
efforts of many othei's. In liis very home may be found, for example : [Metals 
from mines thousands of miles distant; lumber from a forest half a continent 
away; cement from the mills of one state; stucco from the quarries of another. 

From far and wide, over a large portion of the world's surface, materials 
have been gathered which have been used to build and furnish his habitation. 
His daily food comes from all over the world. Ilis reading demands the best 
intellectual efforts of thousands of men scattered over the entire globe. ]\[en 
are dependent upon one another as never before. 

Such a complex society requires for its activities a multitude of ageiu'ios 
to carry on this work s.vstematically. The various professions may b<> con- 
sidered as such agencies. Each is the creation of society, and each is bound 
by certain rules of conduct which society has imposed ujion it. 

The engineer of the present day claims a prominent place among the learned 
professions. As modern civilization is especially distinguished by its use of 
the achievements of science, so engineering may be considered the profession 
especially characteristic of modern societ.v. Tn primitive times it was jiossible 
for each member of society to acquire for himself the knowledge wliich was 
necessary for his use of such soin-ces of power in nature as he could command, 
but now the degree of technical skill required to utilize the vast sources of 
power placed at our disposal by science is entirely beyond the reach of the 
ordinary individual. Society nuist tlicveforc trust itself to a body of skilled 
professional men. 

Every inhabitant of a ui-eat citx". foi- example, is dependent upon liie skill 
and fidelity of engineers for tlie ability to take so much as a single drink of 
water in safety. Negligence on the part of the engineers in charge of the water 
supply woidd at once producp a fearful e]udemic. 

The steam engine would be an engine of destruction were it not foi- the 
skilled mechanical engineer. Electricity. Avhich has been l)rought into nearl>- 
every modern home, M-ould deal death rather than render service had it not 
been subdued by engineers. 



34 

It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of engineering in modern 
civilization, and yet the engineer must be regarded as simply the agent of 
society. It is a common impression that although the services of the engineer 
are especially necessary in the development of a new country, yet w^hen that 
country is once settled and developed the necessity for his services may be at 
an end. The opposite is true. The greater the development of civilization the 
greater the number of engineers required to' do its work. Thousands of engi- 
neers are required in the west today Avhere one was needed when its settle- 
ment began, and this is the increasing tendency of the times. Not only does 
the number of engineers increase owing to growth of population; but the per- 
centage of engineers required also ; so that the total number of engineers 
necessary to do the world's work increases in a geometrical ratio. 

In the past the prominence of the engineer's work has been mainly in the 
line of physical achievement. At the present time new fields of intellectual 
opportunity seem to be opening before him. In the past the world has made 
use of its resources without paying the slightest attention to the future. At the 
present, regard must be had to conservation Avith a view to maintaining our 
great natural resources undiminished for posterity. Hence the technical skill 
of the engineer is now required in directing broad policies of government. It 
may seem absurd to dream of a time when one qualification for any public 
office may be technical skill, yet either our public officers of the future must 
have such skill, or engineers must constitute their closest and most valued 
advisors. 

In the activities of the commercial and the manufacturing world, also more 
the need becomes insistent for men with tlie technical skill and knowledge of 
the engineer. 

There lias arisen as characteristic of the time a demand for broader training 
for the engineer. More and more it is coming to be realized that the mere 
possession of technical skill is not sufficient for an engineer of the highest 
type. lie must be a broad, all ai-ound man, capable of ai)plying his technical 
knowledge to the great prol)lems of modern life. 

CHAPTER HI. 
THE ENGINEER. 

29. Engineering and the Engineer. Cha])ter two has been devoted to a dis- 
cussion of engineering. Chapter three will have for its subject the engineer. 

It must be apparent that the ability, the character, the training, the faith- 
fulness, the enthusiasm and the standing of the men Avho pursue it are all im- 
portant to the profession of engineering. However important may be its place in 
the world's economy, however indispensal)le may be its .service to society, engi- 
neering would fail as an agent of civilization were it not for the high character 
and qualifications of the engineer. It is fitting and essential, therefore, that 
attention should be diverted, for a moment, from engineering as a profession, 
and devoted to the study of the engineer as an individual. 

30. The Fundamental Qualifications of the Engineer. The fundamental 
qualifications of the engineer may briefly l)e enumerated as follows: 

First. Mud most fundamental and important, he must have honesty, morality 
and the highest chai-acter; — second, he must have good judgment, good sense, 
energy, pei-sisteney, ccmfidence. al)ility; — third, he must have the liest technical 
training; — fourth, he must have extensive experience in the practice of his 
profession in addition to teclmical training; — pftli. he must keep up with the 
times by constant reading of technical literature, by membership in technical 
societies and intercimr.se with his fellow engineers: — .s(>//(. he must be a broad 
well roinided man, and a good citizen. 

These fundamental qualifications are not widely difi'erent from those of any 
great calling. They are worthy of separate detailed discussion. 

■\\. Honesty, Morality and High Character Indispensable Qaulifications of 
the Engineer. As was stated in Article M). honestv, moral it v a)id high char- 



35 

acter are the most fundamental of all the (jualifications of the engineer. With- 
out these there is absolutely no hope of his success in the profession. As En- 
gineering News has stated, "The best asset the engineering profession has is 
its reputation for honesty. It is the duty of even- engineer to preserve that 
reputation unsullied." 

At the dedication of the Engineering Hall of the Iowa State College, in 
1903. Mr. M. J. Riggs, superintendent of the Toledo branch of the shops of the 
American Bridge Company, delivered an address upon '"The Making of an 
Engineer.'' from which the following pertinent remarks will be quoted, as show- 
ing the unanimous opinion of the leaders of the engineering pi-ofession as to 
the indispensal^le nature of honestly, morality and high character as qualifications 
of the engineer. 

"If the engineer is to carry on siiccessfully this great work he must lie a first- 
class man. he must be honest. He deals with forces and principles which are un- 
varying and which of themselves tend to make him honest. He must be honest to 
himself, to his work. Any Aiolation of the well known laws of nature will cer- 
tainly make itself known and result in expense and disaster. 

"He must be honest with his clients and employer, since he is pnt in charge 
of great interests, both financial and material, and if he is to liave the confidence 
of those for whom he works he can only have it by strict integrity and attention 
to business. 

"There is probably no place in any profession or business for the dishonest 
man, but of all the professions of which I know that of engineering has the least 
room for such men. On the whole, I believe engineers as a class are usually 
honest and lionorable. I have known a few of the opposite kind and have never 
known one to succeed and maintain any position whatever." 

And then, after some lengthy discussion of other qualifications, again: "Lastly, 
the engineer .should be a good man. The qualities I have outlined will neces- 
sarily make him a man of power, of strength, and of influence, not only with the 
men with wliom he works, but also in the community in which he lives. These 
qualities cannot but make him a leader in social and public life. 

"A man Avitli all this inherent strength has no business to lessen it and curtail 
his usefulness and influence by not being a man of good morals, and ])y not 
using this strength to ])uild up and help other men. Tliere is no reason why the 
engineer should lie blind on the moral side, and every reason why he should be 
the opposite. I have little patience with the cob pipe, cigarette smoking, beer 
drinking engineer, and I believe no one else has. and I also believe tliat the 
brightest man cannot succeed in the engineering profession who is not letting 
his inHuence for right bo felt by his associates, friends and neighbors." 

The author of these lectures desires to state as strongly as possible his belief 
in tlie fundamental importance of honesty, morality and high chai-acter as 
absolutely indispensal)le (|ualities for the engineer. He feels that of late years 
too little emphasis has been laid upon this .subject. He believes that engineering 
educators luive made a mistake in simply a.ssuming these qualifications in the 
men whom they are training, and that they owe to the engineering profession 
the duty of inculcating these fjualifications in the men they are training, in 
season and out of season, by word, and by precept, at every opportunity. 

32. Good judgment and strong common sense, energy, persistency, 
confidence and ability necessary qualifications of the engineer. The 
engineei' nni.st Juiv<' ijiiod Ji((l(/iii< iil and slroiu/ coynnioii st use. It is absolutely 
impossible for him to lay down set rules, upon which he can always rely 
to <lecide the many questions which arise in his work. The problems which he 
must solve are not. like those which he has .studied in mathematics, capable of 
exact solution according to unvai-ying theories. He nnist be able to weigh evi- 
dence, and sift the truth fi'om a mass of apparently conflicting data. He must be 
able to obtain a correct i)ei'si)ective. and grasp essential general principles. 

An (Muployer of engineering graduates has said that the nuni he Avants are iuit 
those who are simply cai)a])le of performing a task when they have been told 
how to do it. and then are watched to see that they do it correctly. The men he 
wants in his work are those of good judgment, and strong common sense, who. 



36 

from geiiei'al iustriu'tions only, ean successfully solve the problems Avliich are 
given to them, iind successfully meet all eouditions and overcome all difficulties 
which arise in their work. The qualities of good judgment and common sense 
are often meant when the statement is made that the engineer should be 
"practical." 

Eiicrcjjj is another of the important qualifieations of the engineer. Mr. Riggs, 
already quoted, says: 

"The engineer must be energetic. His work is to get things done. He receives 
his pay and holds his position because men Avith means want to invest it with 
the idea of prompt returns. There certainly is no place in the engineering 
world for the lazy man. It is not how long wall it take, but how quickly can it be 
done, and how Avell; not how little can l)e accomplished today, but how much; 
not half way service, but the very best that is in him." 

The engineer must have j)crsiste)icii, for often the obstacles which he meets 
seem unsurniountable, and it then becomes necessary to carry the work through, 
by sheer force of Avill. There is always some way by which it can be accomp- 
lished. What the employer of the engineer, and what the public want, is not a 
report as to why a certain task could not be accomplished, but a statement show- 
ing how the obstacles were overcome. The difficulties in the way of performance 
should be reported as a guide to other engineers in attacking the same problem, 
and not as an excuse for its non solution. 

The engineer needs self confide )icc, for the timid hesitating man. doubtful of 
himself, is not fitted for the streniious duties of an engineer's life. On the other 
hand, the engineer should not be egotistic, but should receive suggestions from 
his subordinates and others with courtesy, and give such suggestions fair and 
careful consideration. His decisions, however, should be his oAvn, and he should 
be certain and confident that they are right. 

yatural ahijitij is another fundamental qualification of the engineer. Every 
engineering educator with a conscience is forced often to debate with himself 
whether it would not be a real kindness to some well meaning but ciull fellow to 
send him home. Nevertheless, we find occasionally that the comparatively medi- 
ocro student proves to have the most ability as an engineer after graduation, and 
we nuist always hesitate to pass judgments on young men which might ruin their 
ciiances for careers of liighest usefulness. Wliile only men with great natural 
ability achieve great success as engineers, yet there is room in the profession for 
many who can do useful work and earn honest livings in the rank arrd file. 

33. Technical Education Indispensable to the Engineer. In the early 
days of engineering, and even up to a time within the memory of many 
prominent practitioners of the present day the necessity of an engineer- 
ing education for an engineer Avas a disputed question. ]Much energy was 
wasted in discussions as to the relative merits of "theory" and "practice." 
The engineer Avho had received an engineering education was dubbed a "theo- 
retical" man, while the man who had come up from the ranks without an engin- 
eering education was self designated a " pra(,'tical " engineer. 

All this is long since changed. It is universally admitted at the present day, 
since our calling has i)ecome a real profession, that engineering is so vitally based 
on science that a thorough engineering education is absolutely necessary to the 
engineer Avho attains the highest use of his natural qualifications. On the other 
hand, it is also generally admitted at the present time that an engineering edu- 
cation alone does not make an engineer. The engineering graduate is not yet 
an engineer. Uc has simply attained the possibility of becoming an engineer. 
In the engineering schools, as well as outside of them, the student is told over 
and over again that his engineering education merely puts him i;pon the threshold 
of the profession, and does not entitle him to membership in the fraternity. 
I'racticing engineers and engineering educators are alike agreed on this point. 

The engineering profession may be considered unanimous in supporting the 
idea that an engineering education is essential to an engineer of the present day. 
The common oi)ini()n has been well stated by ifr. Geo. S. IMorison, who was one 
of the most prominent engineers of his day. in an address given in 1895, as 



37 

president of the American Society of Civil Engiueera In liis address, he used 
the term ''civil engineer" in the l)r()ad sense, as inehiding all engineers not 
military. 

•'The civil engineer of the new epoeli. the epoch which he is bringing into 
existence by the manufacture of power, must be an educated man. — in no pro- 
fession will this be more necessary. The physical laws of power and strength 
are mathematically exact, and admit of no trifling. As the epoch progresses, the 
re(|uirements for each individual will become more complicated. The theologian 
and the metaphysician may claim that an education l)ased on the laws of matter 
leaves out the highest part of existence; the biologist and the physician may 
claim that matter endoAved with life is a higher organism than the inianimat-e 
with which the engineer has to deal. Hut however true these claims, their laws 
have not the mathematical rigidity, the clear definition, and the thorough disci- 
pline which mark those with which our profession works. Ihe engineer cannot 
shield himself under doctrines or theories which he accepts but cannot understand. 
Dealing with accurate, definite laws, and guided by the corrective touch of 
physical nature, the education of the engineer will become more necessary, 
more thorough, and more exact than that of auy other professional man. This 
is the training Avhich the civil engineer of the new epoch must have. This 
knowledge he must have, or he must be classed as a workman ratlier than the 
professicmal man." 

In the education of the engineer, as in all his professional work, the foiiiida- 
fion is of y)rime importance. The foundation of an engineering education con- 
sists of a thorough and broad study of all the fundamental sciences and general 
subjects upon which tiie profession is based. The pui-ely technical part or an 
engineer's work consists in applications of the mechanical principles of forces 
and matter and hence it is especially essential that he should have made a very 
thorough study of physics and chemistry. In many lines of engineering, how- 
ever, the engineer's Avork comes into the most intimate relation with other 
branches of science, sucli as bacteriology and botany. TIencc a very tlioroiigh 
training in all the physical sciences is desirable. 

The engineer's work is not restricted, however to technical ap])lications of 
seientific law to inanimate nuitter. It is necessary for him to deal with men. 
Only through the agency of other men can he .successfully direct the great 
sources of power in Nature for the use and ])enefit of man. Hence it is just as 
necessary that he should have a l)road culture training as that he should have 
made a broad, thorough study of science. The technical knowledge of engineering 
will be of no benefit to him unless he can make actual use of it througli the 
activities of other men. and that side of iiis work which includes the direction of 
'bodies of men is really of liigher nature than that which deals simply with in- 
animate matter. 

It is necessary for the engineer to have thorough training in English and 
rhetoric, in order that he may express himself clearly and correctly. It is neces- 
sary for him to lun'e some training in public speaking, in order that he may make 
a favorable impression upon })oards of directors, numicipal councils, and other 
bodies of men in reporting verbally upon his plans. It is necessary that he .should 
be well informed ujjon history, and current events, in order that he may be (piali- 
fied to associate with the leaders of connnunities. It is especially essential that 
he be well educated in the principles of political economy, in orcler that he may 
be qualified to direct great industrial enterprises, and to give service in connec- 
tion with great public utilities. 

The business side of an engineer's work is growing into very great importance, 
and is coming to receive special attention in engineering schools. 

For all these reasons, therefore, the foundation of an engineering education is 
of prime imijortance. If an engineer had to choose between a good general edu- 
cation and one in narrow, technical lines, he would have better chance of success 
with the former, for it is possible for any well educated man to pick up in actual 
practice of the ])rofession most of the technical details, but it is not practicable 
for one man in ten thousand to accpiire a good general education anywhere except 
in an institution of higher learning. This fact is more and more plainly realized 
by engineering educators of the present day. and the tendency of engineering 
education is to lav the fouiulation l)road and siire. 



39 

advance of his profession simply by reading current technical literature. In 
addition he should meet other members of the profession. He should present to 
them the results of his own experience, and in return receive the l)enefit of theirs. 
In order for him to do this it is necessai'y for him to liavc membership in both 
local and national engineering societies. 

The local societies keep the engineers of one locality in close touch with each 
other, no matter what their special lines of work are. and enable them to assist 
eacli other in many ways, and to exert a powerful influence. The national so- 
eieties. on the other hand, bind together all those engineers in the country who 
are engaged in any particular branch of the profession. The advantages of the 
local society therefore are more especially of a social nature, and in maintaining 
high local professional standards and correctly molding public opinion on local 
engineering problems. 

The national societies secure organized action, in each great branch of engin- 
eering, of the engineers of the entire nation. They have power to establish 
standards for the profession which could not be imposed bj' other authority. They 
give it a standing which could not lie otherwise secured. In addition they 
secure to their meml)ers the advantage and benefit of the experience and ideas of 
the very ablest men in their special branches. 

Every engineer owes it l)oth to the public and to the engineering profession 
at large, but more especially to himself, to obtain membership both in n local and 
a national engineering society. 

87. Broad Culture and Good Citizenship Necessary Qualifications of the En- 
gineer, In the discussion of eugineei'ing eihication considerable has already 
been said regarding the necessity for a broad cultural training of the engi- 
neer, but his education along these lines must not be considered to cease 
upon graduation from a college. The highest lines of engineering work 
are those which bring the engineer into leadersliip of large bodies of men. 
It is necessary, therefore, that he should keep in touch with the world's best 
ideas on commerce, economic questions, polities, literature and art. 

If h" should come into i-esponsible charge of a great transportation company, 
for example, it is necessary that he should have the widest information possible 
concerning rate regulation, the effect of transportation rates upon the clevelop- 
ment of industrial centers, and the relations of capital and labor. If he has 
charge of a lighting plant or water supply company, it is necessary that he should 
l)e well posted upon all the relations of pulilic utilities to the community. If he 
has i-esi)onsible charge of a great manufacturing industry he must be well posted 
on business methods, the laws of supply and demand, .systems of efficient admin- 
istration, and the relations of capital and labor. In such enterprises the intei-ests 
in the engineer's charge often have a close connection with ]>olitical ([uestions, 
and it is necessary that he should be well ])Osted concerning i)olitics. In all such 
enterprises, too, his success will depend in large measure upon his al)ility to in- 
fluence both the men with whom he comes in innnediate c(mtact and the general 
public. He must therefore be a broad well rounded num. and a good citizen in 
every i)articular. He should read the best literature, study the Iiest art, and he 
.should conscieuti(msly exercise his right of franchise, and keep well posted on 
all public (juestions. He siiould be a man of independent thought, and very con- 
scientious in the exercise of his duties as a member of the connuiniity and a 
citizen of the nation. 

38. Definition of a Profession. Statement has already been made that 
engineering is at once the oldest and the youngest profession, and that until 
1850 it was not recognized as one of the learned professions. The (piery may 
properly be made: AVhat is a profession.' To this 1 miglit answer that the 
word itself suggests the answer. A profession is a caUiiig in society pursued hy 
an organized body of men who profess to have certain knowledge, training and 
acquirements, fitting them- to do work for society which cannot be done by 
ordinary iiidii'iduals. Those pursuing this calling pnifess to place themselves 
at the service of the ])ul)lic. They jjmfcss themselves to be bound by all rules 
of conduct aiul standards of action coTiniionlv appertaining to a lu-ofcssion. In 



40 

return for their services the members of a profession expect and demand from 
society rewards which would not be given to individuals not members of a pro- 
fession. 

39. The Obligations of the Engineer as a Member of a Profession. En- 
gineers claim that theirs is a true leai-ned profession, and one of the most 
important of the present day. It must be evident that engineers in becoming 
members of such a profession incur certain obligations to society, to their em- 
ployers, to each other, and to themselves. Unless they fulfill the obligations of 
the profession, they must not expect its rewards. 

What are the oliligations incurred by the engineer of the present day as a 
member of his profession? 

Firxf. and most important of all. we may speak of his duties to society in 
general. A profession is simply an agency established by society, to do for it a 
certain line of work which the members of society in general are not qualified 
to perform. The engineer owes society, therefore, first of all, the faithful, honest 
and efficient pei'formance of the duties of his profession. 

lie is also under oliligation to become a good citizen in the community in 
which he lives, and, by performing these duties, to give society the benefit of his 
special technical knowledge on public cpiestions. 

He owes to society absolute honesty in all his life work. The engineer who is 
dishonest is infinitely Averse than the ordinary thief, for the latter is under no 
professional obligations. 

The engineer owes it to society not to uudei;take employment for clients whose 
plans in Avhich the engineer is actively employed may tend to the injury of 
society. He should never lend himself to the promotion of unmeritorious inven- 
tions, for example, nor give endorsement, even by implication, to wild cat- rail- 
ways, or of mining properties whose values are not well determined and certain. 
It may be tlie duty of the engineer, at times to expose enterprises of the char- 
acter inentioncd above, even though he may have had no special concern in them. 

i^ecoitd, in liis diitirs to liis rlirjiis. tlie engineer should be bound by the same 
principles of ethics wliicli are su]ipos;ed to govern pliysicians and lawyers. He is 
bound, first of all to render efficient and honest engineering service. He should 
not undertake work for Arhich lie is not qualified. He should maintain secrecy 
ns to his client's affairs just as is demanded of a physician or a laAvyer. He 
should treat_his client with courtesy and consideration, and demand similar treat- 
ment from liini. ITe should be ready to explain in cU^ar non-technical language 
so far as possible, the reason foi- l:is advice. lie should strive to do the best for 
his em])loyer's interests. 

TJiird. in liis duties to the other rnenihers of his profession, the engineer owes 
it to them to l)e a good, honorable, well qualified man. To maintain the stan- 
dai'ds of his profession, lie must do notliing which could injure it in any way. A 
had act on the part of tlie ordinary individual affects himself mainly: a bad act 
on the pnvi of an engineer, on the other liand, injui-es tlie entire profession. This 
is true wliether the bad Met is diu> to dishonesty, inrniorality, or poor qualifica- 
tions. Imt there must not even be a question as to the rectitude of an engineer. 

Tlie engineer further owes it to the other members of his profession to become 
a member of engineering societies, as already urged in Article 36; to prepare 
papers for their proceedings; to nttend tlieir meetings; and in general, to support 
them financially and as an active memlier. He also owes it to the profession to 
help support technical literature, by subsci'iptions. by reading, and by contribu- 
tions thereto. 

The engineer owes to the fellow n)enil)ers of his profession constant courtesy, 
and good will, and he should l)e bound by the same principles of ethics as are 
embodied in a fixed code by iihysieians. and which govern lawyers. He should 
nof undertake any case x;pon which another engineer is employed, unless asked 
to do so by tlie engineer in charge, or unless the engineer formerly employed has 
been dismissed from the work. An engineer should not decry the work of his 
fellow practitioners. Every time lie does so he lowers the public opinion of the 
profession. 



41 

The engineer owes it to his fellow practitioners to charge fees for his work at 
least equal to those customarily charged by other engineers for the same Avork. 
It is entirely unprofessional for an engineer to make a public bid for engineering 
service in competition with other engineers, and it is still more unprofessional for 
him to endeavor to secure any professional employment by underbidding other 
engineers or by decrying them to the authorities who have the selection of the 
engineer. 

The engineer also owes it to the other members of his profession to assist in 
every way in his power to develop engineering education. His most active 
assistance in this particular should be afforded to his Alma IMater, as one of her 
alumni, by keeping in active touch with her engineering work, by offering advice 
from time to time, and by helping to keep up the spirit of loyalty among the 
alumni. For example, he should keep up correspondence and acquaintance with 
as large a group of alumni as possible. Further than this, any engineer should 
hold himself ready to respond to any reasonable call from any engineering school 
for information or advice or even for service to the extent of delivering non- 
resident lectures or addresses to the students. 

Fourth, in his duties to himself, the engineer owes it to himself as well as to 
the profession, and to the world at large, to make the most of himself, as a man 
and as an engineer. His obligations to himself include the obligations to the 
public, to his clients, and to his fellow practitioners, which have been enumerated 
above. In addition he owes it to aiem as well as to himself to guard his self- 
interest, and to make the utmost ot nimself as an engineer. 

40. Codes of Engineering Ethics. Owing to the fact that engineering 
has so recently been recognized as a profession, it has, as yet, no extensively 
recognized code of ethics. There has been much discussion on this subject, 
however, which has been very fully summarized by ex-President S. S. Wheeler 
of the American Society of Electrical Engineers, in his presidential address 
given at the 23d annual convention of the American Society of Electrical 
Engineers at Milwaukee, Wis., May 28, 1906. the sub.ieet of the address being 
"Engineering Honor." Mr. Wheeler quotes Francis Bacon, from his "Maxims 
af the Law : ' ' 

* ' I hold every man a debtor to his profession ; from the which as men of course 
do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor 
themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereto." 

In the appendix to his paper Mr. Wheeler presents abstracts of the codes of 
ethics of ministrj', law and medicine, including a very full abstract of the prin- 
ciples of medical ethics of the American Medical Association, adopted in 1903. 
Mr. Wheeler also gives the code of ethics of the Boston Society of Architecture, 
w^hich will be quoted in full herewith, owing to the similarity between architecture 
and engineering. 

CODE OF ETHICS OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURE. 

1. No member should enter into partnership in any form or degree with any 
builder, contractor, or manufacturer. 

2. A member having any ownership in any building material, device or inven- 
tion, proposed to be used on work for which he is architect, si>ould inform his 
employer of the fact of sucli ownership. 

3. No member should be a party to a building contract except as ''owner." 

4. No member should guarantee an estimate or contract by personal uonv»! 

5. It is unprofessional to offer drawings or other service "on approval" and 
without adequate pecuniary compensation. 

6. It is unprofessional to advertise in any other way than by a notice gixing 
name, address, profession, and office hours, and special branch (if such) of practice. 

7. It is unprofessional to make alterations of a building designed by another 
architect, mthin ten years of its completion, without ascertaining that the owner 
refu.ses to employ the original designer, or, in the event of the property having 
changed hands, without due notice to the said designer. 

8. It is unprofessional to attempt to supplant an architect after definite steps 
have been taken toward his employment. 



42 

9. It is unprofessional for a member to criticise in the public prints the pro- 
fessional conduct or work of another architect, except over his own name or under 
the authority of a professional journal. 

10. It is unprofessional to furnish designs in competition for private work or 
for public work, unless for proper compensation, and unless a competent pro- 
fessional adviser is employed to draw up the "conditions" and assist in the 
award. 

11. No member should submit drawings except as an original contribution in 
any duly instituted competition, or attempt to secure any work for which such 
a competition remains undecided. » 

12. The American Institute of Architects' "schedule of charges" represents 
minimum rates for full faithful and competent service. It is the duty of every 
architect to charge higher rates whenever the demand for his services will justify 
the increase, rather than accept work which he cannot give proper personal 
attention to. 

13. No member should compete in amount of commission, or offer to work for 
less than another, in order to secure work. 

14. It is unprofessional to enter into competition with or to consult with an 
architect who has been dishonorably expelled from the Institute or Society. 

15. The assumption of the title of "architect" should be held to mean that 
the bearer has the professional knowledge and natural ability needed for the 
proper invention, illustration, and supervision of all building operations which 
he may iindertake. 

16. A member should so conduct his practice as to forward the cause of pro- 
fessional education and render all possible help to juniors, draftsmen and students. 

^Ir. Wheeler also gives abstracts of many discussions on engineering ethics 
and related topics in engineering societies. While the adoption of a professional 
code has many times been proposed, yet it does not appear that any code has as 
yet been adopted, except in the case of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. 
According to ]Mr. AAHieeler they have adopted the following code. 

CODE OF ENGINEERING ETHICS OF THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF 
CIVIL ENGINEERS. 

Didfi of the Engineer to Ms Client. 

1. Every member of the society should perform tbe work he undertakes to dc 
to tbe best of his ability, and in the true spirit of his engagement, feeling it to be 
his duty to present all ascertained facts in their true light. 

The Client's OhUgation to the Adviser. 

2. The civil engineer has a right to expect from his client the same considera- 
tion and deference to his opinion, as is by their clients accorded to the members 
of other professions. — law and medicine for example — without which the adviser 
should decline to advise. The surest way for the engineer to obtain such neces- 
sary consideration and deference from the public will be found in this manner 
of carrying himself. 

Mutual Relations of Chief and Assistant. 

■i. The assistant engineer must loyally obey and support his chief, to whom 
it will be his duty to report directly on all matters relating to the work on which 
they may be jointly engaged. His repoi-t should be full and explicit in all im- 
portant points, and exact to the be.st of the assistant's knowledge and belief, 
cloaking nothing, even though going to show that previous reports had been inae- 
cnrate. or not duly weighed, in some particulars affecting the well-being of the 
Imsiiicss in hand. 

4. Tlie assistant engineer is entitled to look to his chief for, and to receive 
from him advice for his guidance on the proper performance of his duties, and 
where right to expect his support in matters of dispute between him (the assist- 
ant "l and his subordinates or between him and the contractors working under him. 
Tie is also entitled to the aid of the chief engineer's professional experience or 
counsel wliere unlooked for or extraordinary difficulties ]>resent themselves, or 
changes of original plan may be called for. in work on which they are associated, 
so that responsibility may be fairly apportioned between them. 



43 

5. It is the duty of both chief and assistant, each in his department, to study 
economy in the doing of the work, the management of which they have under- 
taken, and in every way to make the client's interests the guiding object. 

6. The engineer may legitimately suggest experiments with a view to improve- 
ment, whether in methods of doing the work which he oversees, or for raising 
its character, but such experiments should only be undertaken with the full con- 
sent of the party, whether client or contractor, on whom the expense may fall, and 
€n the understanding that to them will accrue all pecuniary benefit from the 
success of the experiment. 

7. It shall be considered unprofessional for any member of this society to 
seek the position of an expert to report on any work that is in charge of a 
recognized engineer. 

8. It shall be the duty of any engineer, before examining any work with a 
view to report thereon, to give the engineer due notice before going on with the 
investigation, in order that he may have every facility to explain and sustain his 
methods of carrying on the work in question. 

Professional Service of Engineers to Each Other. 

9. Interchange of professional assistance between members, as tending to 
promote fraternal intercourse and mutual good will, is not to be discouraged, but 
neither is it to be considered obligatory on a member to respond to the request of 
a fellow member for professional counsel or assistance. Service so rendered must 
be entirely voluntary on the part of the member whose aid is sought. 

Pecuniary Matters, Advertmng, etc. 

10. The Civil Engineer may consistently with professional status take out 
patents for new inventions or for improA^ements on old ones, and may sell or 
otherwise dispose of the patents for his own advantage. He may undertake the 
survey and the engineering of works by contract or he may contract for the con- 
struction of works on a percentage of tlieir cost. Advertising with a view to 
attracting business should, where resorted to, be as far as possible free from 
egotistic or self laudatory references and expressed in language not derogatory 
to the dignity of the profession. 

Duties of the Civil Engineer to the Public. 

11. The civil engineer whose advice is sought in respect to the usefulness, 
prqftir.a>.i]ity and cost of a work should, before expressing his opinion, obtain 
reliable information on all points involved in the matter submitted to his judg- 
ment, including the probably paying capacity of the contemplated undertaking. 
He must be cautious how he recommends large preliminary outlay, should avoid 
connecting himself with schemes or projects of merely speculative character, 
always bearing in mind that his professional reputation will be to a great extent 
judged by the inherent worth and commercial value of the undertaking with which 
his name may come to be associated. 

Whether or not any fixed code should be adopted by the various branches of the 
engineering profession, it is certain that all engineers should be governed in their 
work by the full spirit of the codes which have been quoted. 

41. Engineers as Expert Witnesses. Engineers are often called upon to 
serve as expert witnesses, and in such cases there are many puzzling questions 
of conduct which arise. In theory, the expert witness occupies a position different 
from all other witnesses. Other witnesses are allowed to testify only to facts 
which come under their direct observation. The expert witness, on the other hand. 
is allowed to testify as to his opinions on questions which are presented to him. 

He occupies, then, something of the position of the judge himself. If it were 
possible to have the ideal conditions, all expert witnesses should be appointed by 
the court, and paid the same as the judge and other members of the court, instead 
of by either party to the litigation. In fact, however, it is impossible to have this 
ideal condition of affairs, witliout abridging the right of each part.v to the litiga- 
tion to present all facts favorable to his OAvn side of the case. 

The expert witness, therefore, must appear under the circumstance of being 
employed and paid by one of the parties to the litigation, while at the same time 
he is under obligation to the court and to the public as a whole to be fair and un- 



44 

biased. He should never appear as the mere paid employe of the litigant, but 
should fulfill to the utmost the obligation of his oath to tell "the truth, the whole 
truth and nothing but the truth." 

In common custom, there is a preliminary conference between the expert wit- 
ness and the litigant who desire to have his services. In this preliminary con- 
ference the engineer should obtain full information as to all the facts, should 
inform his prospective client fully as to his honest opinions, and he should not 
undertake service as an expert witness unless he has an honest conviction of the 
justice of his client's case. When on the witness stand the expert witness should 
not attempt to suppress any part of the truth, even though such suppression 
should be to the advantage of the litigant who has employed him. Although, in 
all conferences, it will be his duty to inform his client fully on all technical mat- 
ters which might favor his side of the litigation, yet the expert witness should 
adopt a perfectly fair and non-partisan attitude. 

42. The Mission of the Engineer. The substance of the discussions in this 
chapter is that the mission of the engineer is service to modern society. 

It is his place to direct for the \ise and convenience of man the mechanical 
forces and powers of nature. It is by progress along engineering lines that the 
world has risen from savagery to its present high advancement in civilization. 
Without the engineer, the world today would not find it possible to occupy its 
present advanced standing in any line of hiiman activity. In the hands of the 
engineer are placed, in large degree, not only the life and material welfare of his 
fellow men, but also the conquest of the forces of the universe for intellectual and 
moral advancement. He should keep this high mission fully in mind. 

To quote from a verse by Maltie D. Babcock, carried for years in the pocket 
of M prominent engineer, — 

"Be strong: We are not here to play, to dream, to drift, 
We have hard work to do, and loads to lift : 
Shun not the struggle, face it, 'Tis God's gift." 

PART II. 

ENGINEERING IN THE SAVAGE CULTURE STAGE. 

CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE SAVAGE CULTURE STAGE. 

43. The Antiquity of Mankind. (Note: The student should now carefully 
re-read Article 6, page 10.) 

There is no history of the savage culture stage, in the sense of written his- 
tory, based on contemporaneous written record. What we know of savage 
history, except as savages appear in the histories of other peoples of higher 
culture stages, is ascertained by inference, from scientific study: First, a 
direct study of existing savage tribes, which can still be found in many and 
widely varying stages of culture, development ; second, a study of the remains 
of pre-historic man and his work. 

It is by this second line of study, combined with the study of Geology, that 
estimates have been made of the antiquity of the human race. Authorities 
differ enormously in the periods assigned. The estimate of 200,000 years, men- 
tioned in Article 6, page 10, is stated by Hittell* to be based on the opinions 
of Ceike, Croll, Lyell, and other good authorities. 

The rocks of the earth's crust are classified as unstratified, or fire fused, and 
stratified, or water laid. Only the latter show traces of animal or vegetable 
life of anj^ kind. Geology divides the stratified rocks, beginning ^nxh the 
oldest, into the following epochs (as given by James Clodd, in "The Story ot 
Primitive Man," Chapter 2. page 20). 

Estimated depth. Typical Typical 

Plants. Animals. 

Primary 136,000 ft. 72 v; Seaweeds and ferns Fishes 

Secondary 25,000 ft. 13 .4 'y'r Pines Reptiles 

Tertiarjr 27,000 ft. 14.6 (/, , Leaf-bearing trees :Mammals 

Quarternary and recent 500 ft. Existing species 

♦(Mankind in Ancient Times.) Vol. I, page IS. 



45 

The Tertiary period is further sub-divided into three periods; namely, be- 
ginning with the oldest, the Eocene, the Miocene and the Pliocene. Probably 
the earliest remains of man yet discovered consist of very rudely worked 
flints, found at Thenay in France, and near the Tagus in Portugal, all in 
Miocene beds. The human origin of these flints is yet disputed. If proven, 
it would indicate, of course, that human life originated much earlier still, 
and would show a much greater antiquity for mankind than 200,000 years. 
There are other reasons besides the discovery of these flints for inferring that 
mankind first appeared at about the close of the Eocene, or the begimiing of 
the Miocene period. 

At the close of the Tertiary and the beginning of the Quartemary epochs 
occurred the great Glacial Periods of the northern hemisphere, during w^hich 
there were several successive advances and retreats of the great ice sheets. 
The Pleistocene geological period extends from the beginning of the glacial 
period down to the present period. It seems assured, from many finds of 
worked flints, that mankind existed during the glacial period, though there 
was at first considerable dispute over this subject. The first finds of worked 
flints in glacial (drift) deposits occurred near Abbeyville. France, in 1839. 
Numerous similar finds have since been made in other portions of the world, 
but their authenticity is not so generally accepted. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 53. Flakes from Pliocene Beds, Yonang- 
young, Burmah. India, from Natural Science, November, 1894. Showing rude 
character of most ancient alleged "Worked Flints." 

44. Outline of History of the Savage CvQture Stage. The savage culture 
stage has extended from the origin of human life down to a comparatively 
very recent time. For a considerable fraction of the human race it has ex- 
tended down even to the present time, for there are still hundreds of millions 
of living savages (see Article 6, page 10). This long period may be divided 
into the following culture stages: 

1. The Prc-Fire Stage. Of this there are no known remains. 

2. The Paleolithic Stage, or The Stage of Rude Savage Culture, character- 
ized by Ende Stove Impiements. This occupies by far the greater portion of 
the Savage Culture stage, and is still represented by many living savage 
tribes. 

3. The Neolithic Stage or the Stage of Advanced Savage Culture, char- 
acterized by Skillfully Made Stone Implements. This age represents the high- 
est savage culture and did not begin till a comparatively very late date. It is 
still represented by numerous living savage tribes. 

45. The Pre-Fire Age. Since no animals, not even those of the highest 
type, make use of fire, it must clearly be apparent that there was a period, 
immediately following the origin of human life, when mankind did not have 
the use of fire. Of this extremely early period, Ave have, however, no direct 
evidence. It has no living representative among the savage tribes of the 
pi'esent day, although* some Australians and Tasmanians do not know how 
to kindle fire, and hence must constantly carry it with them. 

46. The Paleolithic Culture Stage. The Paleolithic culture stage has ex- 
tended, as has already been indicated, over by far the greater portion of the 
life of mankind. It is perfectly conceivable that the rude shaping of flints 
may have begun in the Pre-Fire age, although the earliest flints yet found 
show traces of splintering by fire.** As some savage tribes of the present 
day are still in this stage, there is no exaggeration in saying that the 
Paleolithic culture stage has continued nearly as long as human life itself. 

During the Paleolithic culture stage there was a gradual, though very slow 
progress towards civilization, as is evidenced by the improvement in skill in 

HitteU Mankind in .Vncient Times. Vol. 1, page :>\. 

•*The disbelievers in the human origin of these flints attribute the traces of (ire to the 
effects of lightning. 



46 

the manufacture of chipped stone implements and other implements and orna- 
ments shown in the specimens which have been found in successive layers of 
remains. However, of later years archaeologists have come to realize that 
many rude chipped flints formerly supposed to be Paleolithic are simply 
partly made stone implements, rejected and never completed because of flaws 
or other defects. It is estimated that at least ten stone implements were 
started for one finished. These "rejects" are found in greatest abundance 
near the spots where suitable stone was quarried or found. It used to be 
thought that the stage of chipped stone implements invariably preceded that 
of ground or polished stone implements, and the term Paleolithic stage was 
synonymous with that of chipped stone implements, while Neolithic was syn- 
onymous with the stage of ground and polished stone implements. It is now 
realized that the method of manufacture depended largely upon the material, 
and that in some regions chipping may never have prevailed at all. Hence 
the best practice now is to define the terms Paleolithic and Neolithic as apply- 
ing, respectively, simply to the rude and the advanced stages of savage 
culture. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 48. Ealing Dean (England). No. 70. Hack- 
ney Downs Gravel (England). Both from A')icient Stone Implements, by Sir 
John Evans, showing character of the rude chipped stone implements from 
the glacial drift gravels in Europe. 

The Aleut Mounds. Along the shores of the Aleutian Islands, between 
North America and Asia, a large number of ancient village mounds have been 
found and examined, which show in successive layers the progress, through 
a very long period of time, of savage peoples, from the rudest stage of culture, 
without positive evidence of knowledge of fire, to a much more advanced 
Paleolithic age. In the lowest stratum only shell fish, apparently, were used 
for food, and the only artificially shaped implements found were rude ham- 
mers, stones with slight hollows on opposite sides for the fingers. The lowest 
stratum of these mounds represents perhaps the lowest savage culture yet 
found. 

The Drift Men. The earliest stone implements, very rude in character, 
have been found imbedded in gravels of the Glacial Period. "Well authenti- 
cated finds have been made in Europe and others have been claimed in Asia, 
Africa, and America. In the Somme River Valley, in France, these remains 
are of such ancient date that the river has had time, since they were deposited, 
to scoop out its valley 60 to 100 feet, an operation which certainly required 
an enormously long period. 

The Ancient Cave Men. Of a considerably more advanced stage of savage 
e ilture were the "cave men," of whom numerous traces have been found all 
over the world in caverns, such as frequently occur in limestone strata. The 
European caves have naturally been studied the most thoroughly. They were 
occupied through long periods of time, and the human remains are found in 
successive layers, of which the oldest are often buried under stalagmitic stone 
floors, which have in some instances attained a thickness of several feet. The 
European cave men* had axes and chisels of flint, bows, arrows, arrow straight- 
eners, barbed fishing and fowling spears, daggers, marrow spoons, needles, 
skin scrapers, amulets, etc. Numerous traces of fire occur among the remains. 
The cave men of all except the topmost stratum of remains did not have 
polished stone implements, nor pottery, nor any regular use of metal. 

47. The Neolithic Culture Stage. The Neolithic culture stage began, of 
course, at different dates in different countries, and in some parts of the world, 
in fact, has not begun even yet. 

According to Isaac Taylor,** estimates of the time elapsed since the be- 
ginning of the Neolithic age in Europe vary from 2000 to 6000 yeare. Since 
Egypt and Chaldaea advanced to the culture stage of Barbarism several thou- 
sands of years before Europe, a still earlier date might reasonably be assigned 



47 

for the beginning of Neolithic culture in those regions. However no very 
sharp lines of demarcation can be drawn between Paleolithic and Neolithic 
culture, and no well established date can be assigned for the beginning of 
the Neolithic stage. 

While the Neolithic stone age is distinguished ^specially by that advanced 
stage in the manufacture of stone implements in which the work was done by 
grinding and polishing rather than chipping, yet it should Qlearly be under- 
stood that this was only one of many advances in culture. Among the other 
advances may be mentioned, pottery, the manufacture of cloth, and canoes, 
the use of domesticated animals (beginning with the dog), tillage of the soil, 
fixed government by chiefs, definite religious beliefs, and advances in social 
organization generally. The use of chipped stone implements, for manj'- pur- 
poses, continued during the polished stone age. 

The Danish Mounds. It is stated by good authority* that probably the earli- 
est traces of men who used polished stone implements are found in the peat 
bogs and village mounds of Denmark. These and other village mounds are 
often referred to as "kitchen middens." Some of these mounds are 900 feet 
long by 180 feet wide and 8 feet high, composed of a mixture of shells, bones, 
ashes, charcoal and earth. There is evidence of their great antiquity in the 
fact that the lowest strata show remains of trees and shell fish long since ex- 
tinct in that part of Europe. 

48. Lake Villages. Worthy of a separate article, though coming in the 
main under the Neolithic ci;lture, are the lake villages of some modern 
savages and the Swiss Lake Villages of Pre-Hi.storic Europe. These villages 
were built out in the lakes, on platforms supported by piles, in order to 
afford greater security from enemies. 

The Swiss Lake Villages belong to the latest stage of Neolithic culture 
and in many instances endured into the age of Bronze. Hittell states that 
133 sites of such villages, in 16 Swiss lakes, are known, and that the study 
of the remains of these villages has afforded the largest body of information 
existing about pre-historic savages. 

The piles were sharpened at the bottom by stone axes, and by fire, and 
were morticed at the top to support the platforms on which the houses were 
built. The inhabitants must have had an advanced communal organization. 
They cultivated wheat, barley, millet and caraway. They gathered wild 
fruits, berries, and nuts — including apples, pears, cherries, grapes, straAV- 
berries, blackberries, beech nuts, and walnuts. They had many domestic 
animals. Pottery was abundant. Pieces of yarn, thread, rope, woven cloth 
and matting have been found among the remains. There were many imple- 
ments of stone, bone, horn and wood. They had rude dugout boats. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No.. 11. Reconstructed Swiss Lake Village, 
from Primitive Man, by lloerness. frontispiece. No. 75. View of modem 
Lake village, town of Brunei, from Storij of Primitive Man, James, Clodd, 
page 133. Credited to Chitterbuck. 

49. The Mound Builders. The Mound Builders of tli(^ Mississippi River 
Valley are another Neolithic Savage culture people worthy of a separate 
article. Their work has been very extensive and covers a wide region. The 
total number of their mounds has been estimated* at 50,000. There are 13,000 
in Ohio, and 5,000 in Illinois, within a semi-circle of 50 miles radius, with 
the mouth of the Illinois river as center. The mounds are 5 to 90 feet high, 
and one of the largest, at Cahokia, Illinois, is 700 feet by 500 feet high, con- 
taining 740,000 cubic yards. In Fort Ancient, Ohio, the works are nearly a 
mile long, with more than 20,000 feet of wall and more than 5 miles of 
terraces. 

The mounds are of various shapes, some imitating jinimals. They are 
supposed to have been constructed for defense, and in some instances, for 
public worship. In numerous instances the mound builders erected low stone 



48 

walls, not connected with mounds. Of the origin of the mound builders, their 
antiquity, and the nature of their culture we have no direct historical evi- 
dence. A study of their implements and other remains, however, shows them 
to have been in the Neolithic culture stage. In the mounds there have been 
found many stone implements, vessels of ungiazed pottery, net sinkers of 
galena lead ore, implements and ornaments of bone and shell, etc. 

Of special interest are ornaments and knives of beaten copper, and simple 
ornaments of silver. The copper undoubtedly came from the Lake Superior 
copper region, where many rude pre-historic mines have been found. The 
fact that it was not cast, and that no bronze articles have been found shows 
that the mound builders had not risen to the barbaric culture stage. It is 
now well agreed that the mound builders were simply the predecessors, and 
probably the ancestors, of the American Indians of the same region. It is 
surmised that the population may have been denser when the mounds were 
built than later. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 101. The great mound near Miamsburg, 
Ohio. No. 102. An aboriginal copper mine in the Lake Superior copper 
region. No. 103. Beaten copper knives and tweezers, from the mounds. 
No. 104. Pottery from the mounds. All from Baldwin's Ancient America. 

50. The Pueblo Indians. Of a still higher stage of Neolithic Savage cul- 
ture are the Pueblo Indians of the Southwestern United States. These In- 
dians built communal houses of Adobe and other masonry, constructed irriga- 
tion work on quite a large scale, and showed much skill in the manufacture of 
pottery aind cloth. In many of the pre-historic instances their dwellings were 
constructed, for purposes of defense, in inaccessible positions on the faces of 
cliffs and the sides of canyons, as is evidenced by numerous remains of such 
dwellings which still exist. These pre-historic tribes are denominated the Clif 
Dwellers. A few tribes of Pueblo Indians are still in existence in the south- 
western part of the United States, and a study of them has afforded a large 
amount of most useful information on advanced savage culture. The Zuni and 
Hopi tribes are well-known examples. In the past the Pueblo population must 
have been much more extensive than at present. The Pueblo Indians have 
attained a very high stage of savage culture, as is proven by their communal 
masonry houses, their skilled manufacture of pottery and cloth, their expert 
tillage of the soil, and their construction of irrigation works on a large scale. 
(See article 74.) 

niustrative Lantern Slides. No. 105. Pueblo Ruins, from Baldwin 's Ancient 
America. No. 106. Cave dwelling with Aboriginal stairway. No. 107. Cave 
dwelling with Graded way. Both from Mason's Origins of Invention. 

CHAPTER V. 
SAVAGE IMPLEMENTS AND MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION. 

51. The Conquest of Fire. It has already been stated (See Article 45) 
that no living savages have been found so low in culture as to be without the 
use of fire, but that there must have been a pre-fire age. 

It is surmised that the conquest of the use of fire came about through re- 
peated experience, through many ages, with fire of natural origin. Lightning 
sets many a dead forest tree ablaze, and volcanoes in some regions constitute 
another natural source of fire. Earthquakes have been known to start fires 
by percussion or friction of rocks. Even after they had mastered its uses, 
savages at first had no means for artificially kindling fire, and they carried 
it with them, carefully guarded, from one place to another, just as do some 
Australians and Tasmanians of historic times. 

Gradually, however, artificial means for kindling fire were invented and 
developed. The savage devices for this purpose fall naturally into three 
classes, as follows: 1. Those developing fire by friction; 2. Those developing 
fire by percussion; 3. Those developing fire by compression. 



49 

1. Friction Devices for Kindling Fire. Of these the simplest, and prob- 
ably the first developed, was that of simply rubbing together two pieces of 
wood, until the heat developed set fire to very inflammable material (tinder). 
This operation is one which is so difficult as to require much skill in selecting 
the material and carrying on the process. Usually a hard stick is rubbed in 
a grove in soft wood until fire is set to wood dust shavings or tinder. When 
the groove is parallel with the grain the process is called ploughing ; when 
across the grain, smving. 

The Fire Drill is a pointed stick of hard wood, rotated rapidly while being 
pressed into a hole in soft wood. The rotation may be: (a) simply between 
the palms of the hands; (b) by a cord pulled back and forth by two hands; 
(c) by a loose bow string worked by one hand; (d) by up and down motion 
of a hand piece, through twisted cords and a spindle wheel. With any of 
these forms of drill a top horizontal cross pi«ce is generally used to permit 
pressure to be applied conveniently. 

In all these cases of making fire by friction a wood dust is produced, and 
heated till it ignites. By fanning, a lalaze is started, and fed with tinder and 
dry grass. The knack must be acquired by repeated experience. 

2. Percussion Devices for Kindling Fire. In these a spark is usually 
struck from flint into tinder until it is kindled. The striking piece may be: 
(a) a piece of hard wood, such as bamboo; (b) a piece of tough stone, such 
as iron ore; (c) a piece of metal, but this would not ordinarily be used in 
the savage culture stage. 

3. Compression Devices for Kindling Fire. In the Smithsonian Institute 
— Report for 1907 — a paper will be found* which gives a full description and 
discussion of the Fire Piston. It consists of a hollow wooden cylinder, and 
a piston fitting therein. By sudden compression of the air in the cylinder 
by the piston, heat is developed sufficient to kindle wood dust or tinder. This 
device was re-invented in modern Europe prior to the introduction of 
matches. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 7. The simplest fire drill (after Hough), 
rotated between palms. No. 1. Two handed fire drill, Kuskokwin region, 
Alaska, rotated by cord pulled back and forth, with cap piece and wooden 
hearth. Both above from Origins of Invention, by Mason. 

52. Material of Construction in the Savage Culture Stage. Under the term 
"Materials of Construction" there will be included materials used for imple- 
ments and ornaments of all sorts. 

While stone is so characteristic a material of savage ' construction that it 
has given the name "The Stone Age" to sava,ge culture, yet it is by no means 
the only material used by savages, nor was it even, probably, the first ma- 
terial used. 

The materials of savage construction may be enumerated as wood, horn, 
ivory, shell, stone, earth, vegetable and animal fibres. 

The uses of wood, stone and earth are worthy of separate articles. 

Bone, horn, ivory and shell were extensively used from the earliest stages 
of savagery, as materials for the manufacture of all sorts of implements. In 
fact, they were undoubtedly originally used in unchanged, natural shape, as 
rude implements. Horn is used by Esquimos of the present day, even in the 
construction of bows, and they make beautiful implements and parts of im- 
plements from walrus ivory. The first shovel may have been the shoulder 
blade of some animal, the first knife a sharp shell, the first dish the covering 
of some large shell fish. 

53. Uses of Wood by Savages. The uses of Avood were manifold. Prob- 
ably the first tool invented by man was a club of wood, and s\ich tools are 
used even by the higher animals. In the savage culture stages wood was 
used for the manufacture of innumerable implements and weapons; includ- 
ing clubs, bows, arrows, handles of other implements, swords, bowls, digging 

*The Fire Piston, by H. A. Balfour. 



50 

sticks, spades, etc. It was also used for the construction of dwellings, boats 
and even bridges. 

54. Eaxth as a Material of Savage Construction. Earth was used for many 
purposes iu savage construction. It was first heaped into mounds, on which 
the rude dwellings were elevated above the surrounding surface, for health 
and for defense. Later on it came tp be piled in mounds of great size, such 
as those already described in article 49, which marked the highest attain- 
ment of savage construction along this line. Clay, mixed with water, and 
kneaded constituted the first mortar, and, in general, savages do not seem 
to have progressed beyond this sort of mortar in their masonry construc- 
tion. Adobe was devised and used extensively by many savage peoples. It 
consisted of clay mixed with water, kneaded and shaped into blocks, walls, 
etc., from which extensive buildings were constructed in climates with small 
rainfall, such as those of south-western United States. In other climates, 
clays or other ingredients with special properties may have been used. 

Earth in the form of clay was also used in the construction of pottery, 
one of the first savage industries to receive development. 

55. Uses of Stone as a Material of Savage Construction. It has already 
been stated that stone was such a characteristic material for savage con- 
struction that it has given the name "The Stone Age" to the savage culture 
stage. 

Not all sorts of stone, however, were valuable for use in implement making. 
By infinite numbers of trials with different kiiids of stone, savages learned 
the best materials available in each region. 

They resorted to the places where these materials could be found most plen- 
tifnly. Where the materials occurred in solid layers regular quarries were 
worked; and where, as is often the case, the source of the material was the 
boulders and pebbles of gravel strata, such strata were turned over and over 
to meet the needs of successive generations. Modern scientists have discov- 
ered many sites of pre-historic quarries and workshops for stone implements. 

Besides being used for the manufacture of implements, stone came to be 
used, in a later portion of the savage culture stage, in the construction of 
dwellings, fortifications and monuments. As already stated, the mortar was 
earth mixed with water and kneaded, and iu many cases also mixed with 
sand and pebbles. 

56. Manufacture of Chipped Stone Implements. Wherever suitable ma- 
terials were available, the first method of manufacturing stone Implements 
devised was that by chipping. Early man found by experience that stones with 
sharp edges were useful as rude implements. The idea would next occur 
that the sharp edges could be artificially produced by breaking off one side 
of one stone by blows from another. Repeated trials Avould eventually de- 
velop the method of manufacturing chipped stone implements. 

The first thing neccessary in connection with tlie manufactiiring of a 
chipped stone implement was to find a piece of satisfactory material. It 
may be supposed that savages Avere constantly on the lookout for good ma- 
terial for stone implements, and it has already been stated that they resorted 
in great numbers for generations after generations to particular places where 
such materials were found. Flint, chert, quartzite boulders, quartz pebbles, 
rhyolite quarried from the mass, jasper quarried from the mass, and obsidian 
are some of the principal materials suitable for this purpose. 

In the case of some of the most favorable materials,, such as large blocks 
of obsidian, and masses of flint, it was possible for the workman at a single 
blow to strike off a piece of material a foot long, Avhich would serve as 'a 
very useful knife. 

Most of the implements. hoAvever, Avere constructed by a laborious process. 
On first finding the material, the implement maker Avould roughly shape it, 
usually ou the spot. In many cases the stone Avould be throAvn away on ac- 
count of fiaAVs developed ofter one or tAvo bloAvs. Such discarded pieces 



51 

after one side had been shaped. It has already been stated that many er- 
are called "i-ejects. " In other cases the "rejects" woixld be thrown away 
roneous conclusions were formerly drawn as to the culture stage to which 
certain stone implements belonged, because the existence of a great num- 
ber of "rejects" was not recognized until recent times. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 81. View of aboriginal quartzite quarry 
in Wyoming, showing one of the pits in the quarry dug out by Indians to 
obtain the material for stone implements. Good materials found in small 
masses scattered through the other layers. (From George A. Dorsey). No. 
36. View showing the elaboration of chipped stone implements, with "re- 
jects "on the left, more advanced forms in the middle, and finished forms on 
the right. The upper line shows implements from quartzite boulders, the 
second line from quartz pebbles, the third from rhyolite quarried, in the 
mass, and the last line from jasper quarried in the mass. (From W. H. 
Holmes). No. 18. Flint knife, showing how a cutting blade of flint can be 
chipped off from a flint core to make a useful savage implement. (From 
"Primitive Man", by Hoerness). 

In the process of finishing up the chipped stone implements, more deli- 
cate chipping and flaking were necessary. This was performed by very 
light blows repeated many times, requiring great skill on the part of the 
workman. No one at the present day can form such perfect stone imple- 
ments as are known to have been the regular product of many savage crafts- 
men. 

Besides the method of flaking by striking blows, the use of pressure was 
common in the manufacture of chipped stone implements. Among many 
savage tribes, special tools for this purpose were found. A common Esquimo 
chipping tool consists of two parts: First, a handle of walrus ivory, curved 
and fitted with utmost care, and highly polished, exactly fitting the chipper 's 
palm, and enabling him or her to have the firmest grasp, and exert the ut- 
most pressure ; second, at the working end of this handle, a strip of very hard 
antler or bone, let into a groove, about two inches long, by one-half inch 
deep, by a quarter of an inch in width extends, say, one inch beyond the 
end of the handle, so as to come into contact with the stone to be chipped.* 
By rapidly repeated strokes with this instrument, small flakes of stone are 
broken off in the final shaping of the implement. 

Mason, in his "Origins of Invention," gives the following classification 
of aboriginal stone workers, or stone workings: 

1. The stone-knapper, makers of spalls, and artefracts with large fa- 
cets. Their implements were at first other stones, then stone hammers, spe- 
cially selected and formed, and after that knapping hammers of metal. The 
art consists in breaking stone with a blow. 

"2. Stone chippers and flakers, makers of chipped products. Their tools 
were small hammers of stone, but more especially pointed pieces of bone or 
antler, which were used as pitching tools, or for pressure. 

"3. Hammers of stone. ^lak^rs of mortars, pestles, axes; sculptors of all 
kinds. Their apparatus was the stone hammer, ancestor of modern bush- 
hammers. 

"4. Stonecutters, par excellence. Workers in soft materials at first, such 
as soapstone and the less compact volcanic rocks. The tools were chisel- 
like, or gravers, and were worked with the hands rather than struck with 
mallets. The modem carvers are their descendents. 

"5. Sawers of stone and other hard metals. Their tools are not well un- 
derstood, since, strange to say, very few white men have ever rei)orted ob- 
servations on the subject. 

"6. Borers of stone. Their tools were drills, of soft material, chiefly used 
with sand, and in boring soft stone, harder stone points. 

"7. Polishers of stone. Other stones, with or without sand, and corals 
or achres, were the means employed. It was well known to the early artifi- 

♦Mason's. "The Origin.'^ of Invention." Page 134. 



52 

cers of this class that the dust of any stone was its best polisher. After the 
same fashion, the diamond is polished with diamond dust," 

Mason also states that a complete catalogue of aboriginal workmen in stone 
would have to include also the quarriers of stone, working "with rude shovels 
of scapula, crow-bars of hard wood, burnt at the end, sledge hammers of 
huge boulders, with or without hafting, and a skillful use of fire and water." 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 35, showing method of removing flakea 
by blows with a piece of stone. No. 6, showing method of removing flakes by 
pressure with a chipping tool. Both of the above from Origins of Invention, 
by Mason. No. 66, showing a flint core Avith the flakes which have been re- 
moved replaced upon it. No. 67, showing arrow heads illustrating the most 
expert work in stone chipping. Both of the above from Evans' Ancient 
Stone Implements. 

57. Manufacture of Stone Implements by Hammering and Pecking. An- 
other method of manufacturing stone implements is indicated in the quota- 
tion above, from Mason, as being hammering. Many examples have been 
found of ancient stone hammers used in this work. A series of light strokes 
was struck with the hammer upon the stone to be battered. Mason states 
that savages would select the toughest bit of stone accessible for a hammer, 
and then holding this in the right hand between the thumb and middle fin- 
ger, Avith the forefinger at the top would strike about a hvmdred blows per 
minute, brushing away the loosened material from time to time with a broom 
of stiff fibres. In many of the ancient hammers hollows have been worked 
on opposite sides for inserting the thumb and fingers. In other working in 
stone the hammers were hafted. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 82, showing pectolite hammer with han- 
dle of caribou antler, grooved to fit the hand. This hammer would be adapted 
to heavier work than' that described above. From Mason's Origins of Inven- 
tion, page 52. 

The process of manufacturing stone implements by hammering, or pecking, 
should be considered not necessarily as succeeding the method of chipping, 
in point of time, but as the original rudest method in many cases. 

58. Manufacture of Ground and Polished Stone Implements. The meth- 
ods of manufacturing stone implements described in articles 56 and 57 by 
chipping and pecking were used in a very crude manner and afforded only 
very rude implements at first. A higher skill was developed only by very 
slow improvement over a period of tens of thousands of years. 

As we come to the Neolithic Culture Stage, Ave reach the highest develop- 
ment of skill in the use of both of these methods, and in many cases stone 
ianplements came to be ground and polished. The ground iand polished im- 
plements are characteristic of the Neolithic Culture manufacture of stone 
implements. Besides grinding and polishing, the savage craftsman came to 
saw, drill, and otherwise shape stone, into many kinds of implements and 
weapons. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 57, shoAving ground and polished ax- 
heads, in one case Avith caA'ity on sides for finger holds. No. 52, shoAving 
perforated ax-heads and hammer stone.. No. 62, shoAving a perforated ax, 
and one mounted in a staghorn socket. All three of these slides illustrate 
the most advanced stage of the savage stone Avorkers art. All are from the 
Story of Primitive ]\Ian, by EdAvard Clodd. 

50. The First Metals. In the latter part of the Neolithic culture stage, 
and even earlier in the case of tribes located in particularly favorable re- 
gions, savages usually became familiar Avith a few of the metals Avhich occur 
in the free state, including, especially copper, gold and silver. Undoubtedly 
copper and gold Avere the first metals known to man. Both appear in the 
free state, and gold is distributed in greater or less quantity over a large 
portion of the Avorld. Avhile copper, in certain reg^ions, is much more in evi- 
dence in the free state than gold. 

4 



53 

There has long been much dispute as to which metal was probably first 
known to man. The preponderance of opinion seems to be in favor of cop- 
per. 

The central portion of the United States, from the Lake Superior region 
to the southern limits of glacial action, at about the latitude of St. Louis, 
was especially favored as regards the distribution of free copper. Pieces 
of the metal are still turned up by the ploughman in many a furrow, or ex- 
posed in the digging of many a post-hole. The writer of these lectures has 
seen a mass of pure copper as large as the head of a man which has been 
found at the surface of the drift soil in Northern Illinois. It is not an in- 
frequent experience at an institution of learning in the Upper Mississippi 
Valley regions to have samples of pure copper submitted by the finder, who 
thinks he has discovered a mine of the metal. 

In article 49, the statement has already been made that the use of copper 
was known among the Mound Builders of pre-historic America, and in the 
illustrative lantern slides a view was shown of an aboriginal copper mine 
in the Lake Superior region, and of copper implements, beautifully finished, 
taken from the mounds of the Mississippi Yalley. 

HoAvever, copper in the pure state is too soft to make satisfactory cut- 
ting tools, and stone, for many 'purposes, furnished better implements for 
savage uses. Hence copper did not displace stone implements among sav- 
age tribes until they had discovered how to harden it by the admixture 
of tin, thus producing bronze. The discovery of bronze marked the trans- 
ition to the barbaric culture stage. Savage artisans were unable to cast even 
the pure copper, on account of their inabilitj^ to make fires hot enough to 
melt it, and it is supposed that all savage copper implements were made 
by hammering and grinding the cold metal. 

Silver was the rarest of the three metals which have been named as those, 
first known to man. 

Certain modem savages are acquainted with the use of iron; as, notably, 
in Africa, whei-e they smelt it by crude methods from the ore, and manufac- 
ture it into many varieties of weapons and other implements. It is pre- 
sumed, however, that their knowledge of this metal has been acquired from 
people of higher culture stages, and thus is not a purely natural development, 
In the purely natural development of culture the use of iron is characteris- 
tic of the latter part of the barbaric and the beginning of the civilized cul- 
ture stage. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 22. showing copper ax from Swiss Lake 
Village (From Primitive Man, by Hoerness). By comparing the form of this 
ax with those made of stone, as illustrated in article 58, it will be seen thai 
the form of stone implements Avas imitated in the first implements of metal. 

60. The Mounting of Stone Implements, In the case of prehistoric stone 
implements, Avhich have been discovered in such great numbers by antiqua- 
rians, the handles and other mountings have usually disappeared, for the rea- 
son that they were made of Avood or other perishable material. We must 
suppose, hoAvever, that all but a small number of these ancient stone imple- 
ments Avere mounted in handles or other attachments for convenience and ef- 
ficiency of use. and this idea is confirmed by study of the practice of modern 
sava ges. 

In the rudest stage of culture the practice Avould be to simply take the 
stone in the hand. The inconvenience and discomfort of so using the imple- 
ment would finally lead to the next step, which Avould be to proA'ide a cov- 
ering, or grip, by which the holder Avould more readilA\ and comfortably 
grasp and use the implement. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 3. shoAving the dagger of a California In- 
dian, the hand grip being simply a long strip of otter skin, bound around. 
No. 27, shoAving the "The Woman's Knife." the grip being simply a lashing 
of fibres to protect the hand and enable a firmer grip. (Both the above from 
Mason's The Origins of Invention). 



M 

The next step would be to provide a handle, which in addition to afford- 
ing a convenient method of grasping and using the implement, would give 
greater force and efficiency in its use. Many methods of attaching the han- 
dles were devised among savage people. 

Mason enumerates the following principal types: 

"1. Doubling a pliant loop of wood about the working part. 

"2. Fastening the working part to a shoulder on the handle, or to a forked 
stick. 

"3. Inserting the working part into a hole, or groove, or mortise in the 
Jiandle. 

"4. Inserting the handle into or through the working part. 

"5. Binding the working part in a sling, which either encircles or covers 
it. 

"6. Seizing. 

"7. Gluing. 

"8. Rivetting." 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 77, showing Australian flint knives, (the 
handles consist simply of wrappings and lashings) and also an Indian stone 
ax, from the Eio Frio, Texas, mounted on a wooden handle. (From the 
Story of Primitive Man, by Edward Clodd). No. 39, showing Hupa dagger, 
Northern California, the handle mounted in pitch. No. 44, showing a similar 
primitive knife from California, the head being held in place by lashing and 
pitch. (Both the above from the Origins of Invention, by Mason). No. 19, 
showing flint blade, and also stone ax, with nephrite blade mounted in stag- 
horn and then fixed in wooden handle. (From Primitive Man, by Hoerness.) 
No. 69, showing polished celt, or ax-head, mounted in perforated wooden 
handle. (From Evans Ancient Stone Implements). 

61. Savage Weapons. Undoubtedly, the human race, like the animal race 
in general, has always been engaged in a constant struggle with other species 
for mere existence ; hence, weapons have always been a prime requisite for 
existence and progress. 

A classification of savage weapons, modified from the one quoted by Mason 
on page 372 of the Origins of Invention, would be as follows : 

1. Bruising Weapons. In the hand: The fist, with or without a stone or 
mass of other heavy material. 

"With a handle: Clubs, flails, scourges. 

Projectile: Stones, throwing clubs, blunt arrows, stone bullets, (as from a 
sling). 

2. Piercing Weapons. In the hand: Daggers and pointed knives. 
With a handle : The spear and the pick. 

Projectile : Arrows from a bow, darts from a blow gun, or thrown with 
a throwing stick, javelins, harpoons and spears, thrown from the hand, with 
a cord, or with a throwing stick, or spear thrower. 

3. Cutting Weapons. In the hand: Knives, swords with stone blades. 
With a handle : Hatchets, axes, including battle axes. 

Projectile : Bladed arrows, African throwing knives, boomerangs. 

Undoubtedly, the first weapon employed by savages was the club, which has 
been extensively elaborated among savage people. In many cases much work 
is bestowed upon its shape and ornamentation. 

Much savage ingenuity has been shown in devising various kinds of weapons, 
both those for the hand and missile weapons. The bow is one of the great 
inventions of the hum^n race, and contruued the principal projectile weapon 
throughout the savage and the barbaric culture stages, and even in the civil- 
ized culture stage down to within 500 years of the present day. The cross- 
bow was generally unknown to savages, although it has been used by them 
to some extent. In a few instances bows have been devised for throwing 
stone biillets, but in general, these have been reserved for the sling. However, 
the sling has never had so extensive a use as the bow. 



55 

Much ingenuity has been shown in the invention of throwing devices for 
spears, javelins, harpoons, etc. Many savage tribes have learned that greater 
accuracy is secured by rotation, and suitable devices have been used to insure 
rotation of the projectile. 

The boomerang is one of the most ingenious of savage projectile Aveapons 
thrown from the hand. 

The blow-tube may be considered a high development of savage weapons. 
Small darts are thrown from it, whose points are poisoned. The tubes are 
constructed from hollow reeds or canes, and in some cases by making ar- 
tificial grooves in two semi-circular pieces of wood which are then lashed 
together. The propelling power is compressed air blown into the tube from 
the mouth of the user. "The blow-tube is really the legitimate prototype of 
the gun." 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. Xo. 23, showing sling of Hupa Indians, dis- 
sected. (From the Origins of Invention, by Mason.) 

62. The Bow and Arrow. The bow and arrow is of such great importance 
as to be worthy of lengthy discussion. As had already been stated it formed 
the principal missile weapon of mankind for many tens of thousands of years : 
in fact down to some time after the invention of gunpowder a few liundred 
years ago. 

The bow has been made of several different shapes, types and details of 
construction. The principal types are as follows:* 

1. Plain or "self" how. This is made in each ease of the best wood for 
the purpose that each country furnishes, hard wood being used in the tem- 
perate regions, and palm wood in the tropics. The wood is carefully selected 
by the savage craftsman, and is then carefully shaped and bent into the 
exact form desired. It is frequently treated with some material rubbed into 
its fibres, and often covered with sinew or other material to prevent splitting. 
The cord was originally made of sinew, or of woven vegetable fibre. 

2. The sinew lined low. In the United States, west of the Rocky moun- 
tains; "this consists of a bow or frame Avork of yew or other soft wood, on 
the back of which is plastered, by means of animal ghie. a mass of finely 
shreaded sinew. This is done so skilftilly as to give the appearance of bark. 
The sinew must be glued down with greatest care to avoid weakness on one 
hand, and a backward breaking strain on the other." 

3. The sineiv corded how. as made hi/ the Esquimo. "The essential prin- 
ciple of this invention is by means of a cable of sinew, twine, or braid, to 
convert the breaking strain of a bit of drift-wood into a columnar strain." 
The sinew and wood are so combined — the sinew on the back of the wood — 
that the rigidity is supplied by the wood and the elasticity by the sinew. The 
bow may be regarded as a compound beam, the sinew taking the tension 
stress, and the wood the compression. Ivory levers by which the sinew cords 
can be twisted are provided by the Esquimo for tightening and loosening the 
sinew cords. After these cords are wound, the levers are withdrawn, and un- 
winding is prevented by a strip of raw-hide passed through tJie cords many 
times and made fast to the wood. 

4. The com-posite how. ;Mason states that in tribes of the Plains Indians 
and Eastern Esquimo. "these may be made of wood, antler, horn or bone. 
The Sioux type consists of three pieces, the limbs of horn, the grii> of wood, 
made in the shape of a Cupid's liow. Tliese parts are held together by sinew 
twine and covered with skin to conceal the joints." 

Mason also states that bows of the Escjuimo type are ruder, and that among 
them, the material being very scarce, the compound bow may be constructed 
of pieces of hard drift Avood, whale ribs, or even of "Walrus ivory. 

The composite or built uj) Asiatic bow belongs to the l)arbaric culture 
stage. Good examples are the "Kung" bow, of China, the "Tatar" bow. 
and the famous Turkish reflex bow. These are compounded of (1) the self 
bow as a base; (2) the >eparate arms of the compound bow; (3) the sinew 

•See Mason's "The Origins of Invention," page 384. 



56 

backing or a substitute; and (4) the covering of snake skin, or bark, or 
buckskin, to conceal the joints. It is argued that the Tatar form of bow 
was in every day use around the besieged city of Troy, and that the Scythians 
contributed this type to all the classic nations."* 

Illustrative Lantern Slices. No. 41. Sinew lined bow, with arrows and 
quiver, of a Hupa Indian. From Mason's 0' igin^ of Invention. Nos. 5819 
and 5820. Comparative dimensions of oriental, reflex, composite bows, Chinese, 
Tartar, Indian, Persian and Turkish. Nos. 5814 and 5813. Parts of a Turkish 
composite bow, viz., sinew back, thin wood center, and horn face on bow- 
string side. No. 5812. Turkish reflex bow, and arrow. No. 5816. Method of 
stringing Turkish and ancient Grecian reflex bows. All the above from Sir 
Ralph Payne-Gallwey's Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients. 

These oriental bows were very powerful and could throw a short, light, 
flight arrow to almost incredible distances. The Turkish Ambassador to Eng- 
land shot a flight arrow 482 yards in 1795, and Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey 
reports records on Turkish columns at Constantinople of 625 to 838 yards. 
He also reports that the longest shots made with the famous English long 
bow were about 335 yards. 

The arrow is in some respects even more difficult to manufacture than the 
bow. Arrows have been made with many different details among different 
savages. In America it is stated that each tribe of savages and each kind 
of hunting and fishing, and each region, has its peculiar arrow. 

The plain arrow consists simply of head, shaft, feathers and nock. 

The head is usually made of stone, among savages, and in the most ad- 
vanced savage culture stage is very frequently barbed. It was usually fas- 
tened to the shaft by lashings, the shaft being split at the attachment, but 
many different forms of attachments have been used. 

The shaft must be perfectly straight, and it was often necessary to straighten 
it artificially. 

In the arrangement of feathers, and method of attaching the same, many 
different details have been employed. In some cases the feathers are at- 
tached at a slight angle so as to cause rotation of the arrow. 

Mason states that the most complicated form of arrow in America was the 
sea otter arrow of the Alaskan Indians, which may be described as follows : 
"Shaft of cedar, thirty inches long and three-eighths of an inch thick; fore- 
shaft of bone, six inches long; feathers, three, daintily laid on and trimmed; 
cock-feather ; white ; neck, large, bulbous and deeply notched ; head, a dainty 
little barb of bone or native copper, fitting loosely into the outer end of the 
fore-shaft, pierced on end for the fastening of a braided martingale or sinew 
cord; martingale tied into the head at one extremity, and at the other divided 
for three feet into two parts, the end of one part tied to the shaft near the 
fore-shaft, the other end made fast near the feather. When this shaft is 
shot into an otter, the little barb is driven quite under its skin and is pulled 
from the foreshaft. The sinew martingale unwinds, the bone fore-shaft sinks 
in the water, the telltale feathers bob about in the air, the shaft acts both as 
drag and buoy aiding the hunter to follow and retrieve his game." 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 29. Dissection of a Hupa arrow, showing 
different parts, different styles of head attachments, etc. From Mason's 
Origins of Invention. No. 5815. Turkish arrow, nock and feathers. No. 5818. 
Turkish thumping. No. 5817 Turkish horn groove. The above from Gallwey. 

63. Savage Protective Armor. Just as the blow-gun may be considered 
the prototype of the largest and highest powered cannon of the present day, 
so the shield and rawhide armor of savages may be considered the prototype 
of the steel armor of the modern battleship. 

Savage protective armor may be divided into tAvo types: 

1. Devices held in the hand. Under type 1, we have, first, the parrying 
stick. According to Mason, the Dinkas used parrying sticks of elongated 

i also Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey's "Projectile Throwing- Engines 



57 

spindle shape, the bulbous central portion being hollowed out, and having a 
grip for the hand. Parrying-bows have been used for the same purpose. On 
Drummonds Island, in the Kingsmill group, the inhabitants use, it is stated, 
Mrri-sticks for warding off stones. 

More effective than the parrying-stick is the shield, which, according to 
Lane Fox, as quoted by Mason, was developed from the parrying-stick. The 
gradual widening of the club in the center, and the covering for the hand, 
led, at last, to the long narrow shield, which later led to the broad shield 
covering the body. Shields are made of wood, or of rawhide from large an- 
imals An extensive discussion might properly be devoted to the many vary- 
ing kinds. 

2. Devices worn on the body. This type finds its most primitive illustra- 
tion in the rawhide armor made from skins of large animals, and worn by 
many savage tribes. Of later development are armors made of woven fibre 
and cocoanut fibre or with rods of wood laid parallel, woven together and 
fitted to the body, as in the case of North American and Asiatic tribes, and. 
finally, of quilted cotton armor, such as was found in Mexico in the barbaric 
culture stage. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 2, showing slat armor from California. 
(From Mason's Origins of Invention). 

64. Savage Tools. All savage implements not used as weapons are here 
included under the head of tools. Adrian de IMortillet, as quoted by Mason,* 
makes a classification of simple tools, as follows: 

I. For Cutting. Edge Tools. 

Working. 

1. By Pressure Knives, double edged tools, shears, planes. 

2. By Shock Axes, adzes, chisels, gouges. 

3. By Friction Saws. 

II. For Abrasion and Smoothing. 

Working. 

1. By Pressure and 

Friction Scrapers, gravers, rasps, polishers, smoothers, bur- 
nishers, whetstones, grindstones. 

2. By Shock Hammers, working on the principle of bush ham- 

mere. 
In wood working, fire is an efficient element in abrasion. 

HI. For Fracturing, Crushing, Pounding. 

Working. 

1. By Pressure Chipping and flaking Instruments. 

2. By Shock Hammers, pestles. 

3. By Friction Crinding apparatus, mills. 

IV. For Perforating. 

Working. 

1. By Pressure and 

Friction Needles, prickers, awls, drills of all kinds. 

2. By Shock Punches. Picks. 

V. For Grasping and Joining. 

1. Tongs, pincers, vices, slamps, wedges. 

2. Nails, lashings, glues. 

All of these tools have their examples among savage implements. 

In many of the lantern slides already shown, knives have been illustrated, 
as made of stone. 

Some savage tribes had no other knives than pjeces of hard wood, such as 
bamboo cane. The outer rind of this wood when recently split is very sharp. 

•Oriprins of Invention, pag:e .'^1. 



58 

Savages had no shears, working like those of civilized people. There is only 
one cutting edge, and that is used in the same ma»ner as the modern sad- 
dlers cut skin, by holding the article to be cut against some fixed edge. 

Savages have no planes corresponding closely to the modern plane, or jack 
plane, but the drawing knife and the spoke shave are directly descended 
from aboriginal implements. Axes, adzes and chisels are exemplified by stone 
implements. However, there is not a very sharp distinction made between 
them. The very same stone blade may be mounted differently, to form either 
an ax, or an adze, or a chisel. The savage chisel was shoved from the work- 
man and usually was not struck with a mallet. Nevertheless, the tendon and 
mortise, which may be regarded as peculiarly the work of the chisel, were 
made in the highest savage culture stage. 

Savages used wedges for splitting boards from logs, rather than saws for 
ripping. For cutting across the grain, on the other hand, the saw was one of 
the oldest tools known. In some instances aboriginal saws were made by 
inserting bits of stone or the teeth of sharks in a groove in a handle. In 
other cases stone saws with jagged edges were used; and in still other in- 
stances sand was used in connection with a thin piece of stone, wood, or other 
soft matei-ial. 

Scrapings, gravers, whetstones and grindstones are common savage imple- 
ments, as are also hammers, both for abrasion, and for fracturing, crushing, 
and pounding. 

Chipping and flaking instruments have already been described and discussed. 
The mortar and pestle were devised at a very early date, and extensively 
used in the preparation of seeds for use as food. 

Needles and awls were made from pieces of bone and other materials. 

Drills were provided and operated, exactly on the principle of fire drills,, 
as already described in Article 51. 

Various types of tongs, and pincers, and wedges were used by savages. The 
prehistoric vice and clamp often consisted of two pieces of wood lashed to- 
gether by rawhide. 

In fact, savages made special use of lashings. Kawhide possesses the 
quality of greatly shrinking, and by its use very tight lashings were possible. 

Savages invented and used many different kinds of glue. 

For polishing, grass containing silex, very smooth stones, ochres laid on 
buckskin strips, or the hard hands were used. In many cases, all marks of 
chipping and sawing were obliterated from stone tools, even in the case of 
the hardest materials, by this process. Savages also made considerable use 
of burnishing materials and of varnishes and oils, to fill the grain of the 
wood, and give a better shine. 

Paints were used by savages, but mostly for decorative purposes. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 71. Stone scraper. (From Evans' Stone 
Implements). No. 59. Two flint knives, and flint borer. (From the Story of 
Primitive Man, by Edward Clodd.) No. 76. Flake saw. and examples of 
stone adzes and picks. (From Evan's Ancient Stone Implements.) No. 24 
Mortar and grinding stone, illustrating the earliest grinding stone for corn. 
(From Primitive Man. by Hoerness.) No. 73. Hammer stone and bone needle, 
found in Kent's Cavern, England. (From Evan's Ancient Stone Implements.) 
No. 15. Shell spoon, showing method of hafting. (From Mason's Origins of 
Invention.) No. 54. Necklace of jet, studded with spots of gold, found in a 
barrow, in Ross-shire, England. (From Evans' Ancient Stone Implements.) 
No. 25. Wrench, for straightening wood or bone. (From ^Mason's Origins of 
Invention.) No. 47. A primitive Esquimo vice. (From ^Mason's Origins of 
Invention.) 

CHAPTER VI. 

SAVAGE MANUFACTURE AND INDUSTRIES. TRANSPORTATION, 
NAVIGATION, ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE. 

65. Treatment and Uses of Hides and Sinews by Savages. The art of 

tanning was not known to peoples in tlie savage culture stage. They had,^ 



59 

however, many processes of treatment which were given to hides to prepare 
them for different uses. Among the western Indians, rawhide was prepared 
by first removing the hair, by soaking in water containing wood ashes or 
other alkaline substance. The skin was then cut in the desired shape and 
put on a frame while green. When it became dry, it hardened, and according 
to Mason became nearly as strong as iron. It is stated that many miles of 
rawhide were prepared by each savage. By other methods of treatment, 
buffalo hide could be made smooth and pliable. Similarly, deerskin could be 
worked into smooth and pliable buckskin, by a process known to all Indian 
tribes. 

From the skins of animals, clothing was prepared for all savage races. 
Skins were also made into shields and armor, into cord, and used in many 
other ways. 

The nses of sinew have already been discussed in connection with bows, 
arrows, etc. The tendons of animals were shredded, and very extensive use 
made of the sinew thus produced. 

66. Uses of Fiber by Savages. As has already been indicated in many 
places in the preceding discussion, very extensive use was made by savages 
of fibers of all kinds, both animal and vegetable. Grasses, cocoanut fiber, the 
inner bark of trees, cotton, avooI, reeds, rushes, and splints of wood, are exam- 
ples of fibres extensively used by savage people. Some fibres were woven into 
baskets and mats, without previous spinning into threads. They were also 
braided into cords, or spun into threads, and used in mat making and in the 
weaving of cloth. 

67. Savage Manufacture of Mats and Baskets. IMats and baskets were 
the simplest woven products to be produced by savages. From splints of 
wood, willow osiers, braided cord, etc., many different types of mats and 
baskets were produced. By the experience of many people, extending through 
long periods of time, many different woven stitches were devised. In the 
rudest form of baskets, the work is very ciiide, while in higher forms, baskets 
were made water-tight with no other material than woven fibers, and stitches 
were used of such intricacy as to constitute practically the beginning of lace 
making. 

Mats were used for clothing, for shelters and for sails. 

Baskets were used for transportation, for storage of seeds and other food, 
-and even for the cooking of food. In a water-tight basket, water could be 
boiled by immersing red hot stones, without injuring the material of wliich 
the basket was made. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 45, showing plain weaving of cedar bark 
■on the coast of Britisli Columbia. This illustrates the plainest type of rect- 
angular weaving of .strands of bark. No. 17. showing diagonal weaving, 
common in many American tribes, being a variation of the plain rectangular 
■stitch. No. 38." showing the detnil of coiled basketry from the southwest 
United States. No. 10, showing detail of the "birdcage" stitch in basketry, 
in which two horizontal weft strands were twined about the vertical warp 
strands. No. 5 gives detail of the Aloutian basketry, showing tAvine stitch- 
ing with split warp strands. No. 21 shows a Avicker basket of the coarsest 
type as made by Zuni Indians. Avith large scale view of the detail. No. 40 
shoAVS the Pima burden basket, Arizona, a basket of the highest and most 
ornamental type, Avitli the stitch so elaborate as to constitute the besrinnings 
of lace making. Tlie detail of tlie stitch is shoAA-n in the vieAV. (All the above 
are from Mason's Origins of Invention.) No. 88, a Pima basket maker. No. 87. 
Hopi maiden weaving a plaque. (Both the above from Dorsey's Indians of 
the SouthAvest.) No. 81. Cliff DAvellers' sandals, more than 1,000 years old. 
(From Lipps' The Navajos.) 

68. Savage Manufactvire of Cloth. The next step in advance beyond the 
Aveaving of mats and bjiskets wDuld be the manufacture of cloth. This step 
has universallv been attained in the most advanced savage culture stage. 



60 

In the manufacture of cloth, the process may be divided into two parts, 
spinning and weaving, which will be taken up in order. 

In spinning, the object is to produce a continuous thread or cord by the 
intertwining of animal or vegetable fibers. Undoubtedly the first cords were 
produced simply by hand twisting of fibers, and in some cases this process 
may still be seen in use by savages. After learning to twist cords with the 
fingers, a further step would be to twist with the palm of the hand, keeping^ 
the thread or cord between it and the thigh, as is still practiced by some 
savages. Some method of storing the twisted cord, so as to prevent its un- 
twisting was necessary and this was done by coiling the cord on a stick, 
which resulted in the development of the spindle. 

At an early date it was discovered that the spindle itself could be made 
to rotate and do the spinning, if it were provided with an arm or disc to 
furnish sufficient momentum to keep up the whirling movement. Hence, the 
complete spindle, as developed by savage tribes, consisted of a shaft of wood, 
upon which was placed a simple whorl in the form of a perforated circular disc 
of stone or other heavy material. These spindle whorls are found in great 
numbers among the relics of prehistoric savages, and are found in use among 
modern savages. 

With the development of the spindle, the process of spinning consisted of 
taking in the hands a strand of the fiber which was to be spun, attaching one 
end of the strand to the upper end of the spindle, imparting to the spindle 
a rapid rotary motion, which is kept up by the spindle whorl, and allowing 
this rotation of the spindle to twist the cord aud draw it through the hands, 
which control the rate of spinning, and the diameter and hardness of the cord. 
When the spindle reaches the ground the cord or thread already spun is 
wound upon it. A ncAV attachment of the fiber to be spun is made to the 
upper end of the spindle and the process continues. Practically the same 
process of spinning devised by savages was used throughout the entire bar- 
baric culture stage, and even until a recent date in the civilized stage. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 28 shows a Zuni Indian spinning woolen 
yarn by use of a spindle such as has been described. (From Mason's Origins 
of Invention.) No. 64 shows two spindle whorls as found in England as 
relics of prehistoric savages. A .jet button is shown on the same slide. (From 
The Story of Primitive Man, by Edward Clodd.) 

The second step in the process of the manufacture of cloth is weaving tlie 
spun thread or cord into cloth. The development of cloth weaving resulted 
naturally from the weaving of basketry and mats, but the threads, not being 
stiff, required some convenient method of support and manipulation, and this 
led to the gradual development of the loom. 

Mason, in his Origins of Invention, page 246, gives the following descinp- 
tioD of the rudest savage looms: 

"In many parts of the world, savages set up frames, vers^ much like the 
old fashioned quilting frames, only of very rude sticks laid parallel on the 
ground or fastened to some stable objects, just as far apart as the fabric is 
to be long. In a continuous long spiral they Avind the warp yarn backward 
and forward about these sticks until the warp is as Avide as the blanket or 
other fabric is to be. The threads are thus adjusted at equal distances on 
the sticks above and beloAv. A long rod is then laid against the Avarp and 
hj means of a continuous yarn this harness is made fast to the Avarp threads 
farthest from it, the back threads, if the loom is standing. This can be done 
by simply Avinding the yarn about the stick and passing it betAveen the front 
warp filiets and around the back ones, as a hurdle or heald, until every 
thread is attached to the harness stick. The yaim of the Aveft is Avoinid on 
a long stick by Avrappiug it around one end once or twice, carrying it to 
the other end, Avrapping it there, and so on, backward and forward xmtil 
enough is Avound. The Aveaving consists in draAving the harness stick toAvard 
the weaver which pulls the back set of AA-arp threads forAA^ard betAveen the 
other or front set. The primitive shuttle is then passed between the tAvo 
sets of Avarps, the end of the yarn having been fastened to the outside Avarp 



61 

and enough yarn unwound to go across. "With the two hands, this first weft 
fillet is drawn taut, and any inequalities adjusted Avith a pointed bone or 
stick, and then is driven home by a wooden sword, lightly, if the texture is 
to be plain, with some force if it is to have a corded appearance. The sword 
is then withdrawn, the harness stick slackened, the back set of warp thread 
forced into their places by the sword and another weft thread carried across. 
This constitutes the action of the most primitive loom." 

Later, more complicated apparatus was developed, by which patterns could 
be readily woven into the cloth, and by the introduction of colored threads 
ornamental textiles were produced. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 34. Zuni woman weaving a blanket. This 
slide shows clearly the details of a primitive loom, as described by Masoii 
above. (From Origins of Invention, by Mason.) No. 21. A Navajo weaver. 
No. 31 Navajo weavers. Showing Navajo Indians at work with primitive 
looms. (Both above from Lipps' The Navajos.) 

69. Savage Manufacture of Pottery. Another manufacturing industry 
which has developed among all savage tribes of the higher culture stage is 
that of the manufacture of pottery. It is surmised that the manufacture of 
pottery developed from the use of basketry for storing and cooking food. It 
has already been stated that in water-tight baskets, such as are Avoven by 
many savage tribes, food can be cooked Avithout injuring the basket by intro- 
ducing red hot stones into the Avater. In an effort to make a vessel Avhich 
would hold Avater and not be injured by fire, a natural step Avould be to cover 
the basket Avith clay. Experience Avould then gradually teach savage people 
that this clay would burn hard and be capable itself of acting as a Avater- 
tight vessel which would stand fire. That this is the method of the early 
development of potteiy is evidenced by the fact that the earliest lines of 
ornamentation resembled, in many eases, the impress of Avoven basketry upon 
the soft clay. 

There are three methods in use by savage tribes for forming clay vessels 
to be burned into pottery: First, by molding; second, by coiling; third, by 
modeling. 

The method by w aiding consists in forming the clay vessel upon some mold, 
such as the interior or exterior of a basket. If the mold is not so constructed 
as to permit it to be remoA'ed. it Avould disappear in the process of burning. 

In the method of coiling, the clay is first made into a series of fiexible 
ropes. Very often a shalloAv basket mold is iised for starting the vessel. In 
the interior of this basket mold the clay is placed, and when the top is 
reached, the shape of the vessel is continued by coiling the rope of clay 
around and around, splicing it as the end of each individual piece is reached. 

The first clay vessels Avere in many eases broad and shalloAv and open at 
the top. These have many disadvantages for the storage both of Avater and 
solid materials. Gradually savage peoples came to close in the tojis of their 
clay vessels. 

After the vessel Avas completed in the soft clay by the coiling process, the 
interior and exterior Avere smoothed out by hand scraping or by suitable 
tools. At first the interior alone Avas smoothed, but later both sides. 

In the third method, that of modeling, the clay was shaped by hand. Avith- 
out reference to a mold, just as a sculptor models a figure from the raAv 
material. 

Savages did not invent the potter's Avheel. The nearest they came to it 
Avas the forming of their clay vessels in the interior of a basket, or other 
mold. Avhich may be regarded as a stationary potter's Avheel. 

The earliest pottery found is rude in shape and ornamentation. Many 
savages learned to improA-e the external appearance and imperviousness of 
their clay Avares by dipping them into a "slip" composed of thin clay, after 
the form of the vessel AA-as completed. They gradually learned that different 
clays would burn different colors. Ornamental patterns came to l)e impressed 



62 

Tipon the soft clay to remain in the burned work, and by the use of different 
clays and "slips" colored patterns could be produced. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 80. Pottery from Auvernier, showing very 
rude pottery of early European savages. (From the Story of Primitive Man, 
by Edward Clodd.) No. 42. Clay vessel from Neolithic Swiss Pile Village 
Attersee. (From Primitive Man, by Hoerness.) No. 43. Coiled Pottery, show- 
ing manner of forming vessel before burning. No. 4. Painted decorations 
from vase from Moki Pueblo, showing ornamentation of savage pottery. 
No. 20. Pottery bowl, from San Juan, southwest United States, showing deco- 
rations. (All from Mason's Origins of Invention.) No. 91. A Hopi pottery 
maker. No. 90. View of the firing of pottery by southwest Indian in a primi- 
tive kiln. No. 89. Showing an Indian at work decorating pottery. (These 
three from Dorsey's Indians of the Southwest.) 

70. Savage Implements of Agriculture. Regular tillage of the soil was 
not used until the neolithic culture stage. The digging stick, which was, un- 
doubtedly, the beginning of agricultural implements, and the progenitor of the 
hoe, spade and plow, was a sharp stick about six feet long, often hardened by 
fire. In many observed cases of modern savages, such digging sticks were 
almost the only implements used in their agricultural operations. Later on 
came the development of wooden spades, Avith a cross piece near the point 
for the foot. Hoes were also used by many savage people with blades of 
stone, shell, wood or bone. 

Besides implements for the cultivation of the soil, others were needed for 
harvesting the crop, but not many special tools were invented or used for 
this purpose. 

71. Land Transportation among Savages. Land transportation among 
savages was almost entirely by direct carriage by men, women and children. 
Wherever commerce became sufficiently established to require comparatively 
regular transportation of loads, porters were employed, and the long lines 
of such porters in savage Africa, or the wild regions of other savage coun- 
tries, may be regarded as the predecessors of the long freight trains on 
modern railways. 

Many ingenious carrying bands, or harnesses, and methods of supporting 
heavy loads Avith the least effort and discomfort were invented by savage 
porters, and the biirdens they could carry seem enormous to their civilized 
successors. 

Among modern savages, some use is made of beasts of burden, such as that 
of horses by the American Indians, who use them for direct carrying of 
burdens and to drag the travois. The travois consists of poles supported at 
one end by the horse and dragging at the other end upon the ground, upon 
which the burden is placed or people ride. However, the Indians were not 
in possession of horses prior to their contact with Europeans, so that this 
can hardly be considered an example of savage transportation methods. 

The Esquimo transportation on sledges hauled by dogs was, however, an 
independent savage development. The Esquimos show much ingenuity in 
the construction of their sledges and in the harness for the teams of dogs. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 8, shoAving parbuckle and carrying strap 
combined, as found in northeast Asia and British Columbia. No. 60. Com- 
plete outfit for a California acorn gleaner and miller, shoAving, besides other 
articles, the headband, and basket for carrying acorns. (Both from Mason's 
Origins of Invention.) No. 23.1, a carrying basket. No. 21.1, Karen boy of 
Burma, carrying breadfruit. No. 19.1, San Carlos, Apache Avoman carrying 
Avater in a Avieker jar lined Avith pitch. No. 18.1, Zuni AA^oman supporting a jar 
of water, also shoAving head or milkmaid's pads. No. 17.1, breast yokes used in 
hitching the Esquimo to his load. No. 16.1, Napo Indian carrier of Ecuador. 
No. 12.1, Washington negro carrying burden, also shoAving carrying basket 
of the Caragador. No. 13.1, carrier of the SandAAdeh Islands. Also shows 



63 

carrying net and frame. No. 14.q, carrying frame and coffee carrier of Rio. 
(Above nine from Mason's Human Beast of Burden.) 

72. Navigation Among Savages. No savage tribes have been found who 
have not some knowledge of navigation. 

The first rude device among savages, was, undoubtedly, the single log. 
Later several logs were bound into a raft, and among some tribes rafts 
developed to such a stage that they Avere driven by sails, and the users 
ventured out of sight of land upon them. 

The next step in navigation in advance of the raft was the construction 
of dug-out canoes. These were hollowed out of trunks of trees, by fire, and 
the use of stone axes. At first no attempt was made to give an artificial 
shape to the canoe different from that of the tree from which it was made. 
Both ends, for example, were cut squarely across. Later on, the ends were 
carefully shaped, so as to afford the least resistance to water, and by the 
use of water and heat the sides of the canoes were shaped. It is stated that 
in the best types of canoes, the shapes could not be improved upon by a 
modern boat-builder. 

A still higher stage of development of boats is found in the bark canoe, of 
the American Indians and other tribes. Such boats consist of a water-tight 
sheating supported and shaped by a frame, and are much more complex in 
structure than the simple dugout. It would be hard to improve upon the 
birchbark canoes of the American Indians for lightness and gracefulness and 
complete adaptability to the needs of the tribes who use them. An early 
traveler has stated that in some cases the canoes were made so small and 
light as to be carried continually with parties of Indians, ready for use 
whenever a considerable body of water Avas encountered. 

The highest type of construction of savage boats is probably exhibited by 
the canoes used in some of the Pacific islands. Here, each boat was con- 
structed Avith a keel, and Avith planks heAvn out of timber. In some cases 
these planks Avere dressed so that a vertical cross-section Avould be something 
like the cross-section of a modern channel-iron and they Avere fastened by 
sewing AAdth cords passed through holes Avithin the flanges. Thus the edges 
of the planks Avere formed in such a Avay that the sewing did not show at 
all on the outside of the boat. Such boats came to be provided Avith sails 
of matting or hide, and AA^th outriggers to prevent capsizing. INIasou states, 
on page 361 of Origins of Invention, that the Polynesians made many voyages 
with such boats betAveen Tahiti and HaAvaii. a distance of 2300 miles, before 
the discovery of America by the Europeans. 

Sails represent the highest development of motive poAver in savage uaAaga- 
tion. The usual propelling poAver is the paddle, but some tribes of Esquimos 
have devised a rude roAV-lock, to take advantage of the principle of the lever. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 68. Dug-out canoAV canoe Avith square ends 
from one of the SavIss Lake Villages. (From the Story of Primitive Man, by 
Edward Clodd.) No. 35. American "bullboat" or coracle. No. 26. Forms of 
paddles in America. No. 12. Primitive roAA'-lock, or Esquimo lever device. 
No. 16. Malayo-Polynesian canoe and outrigger. Avith Avhich the Pacific ocean 
Avas explored in the seventeenth century. A. D. This canoe is made of planks 
as described above, and is provided AA'ith mast and sail. (From ]\Iason's 
Origins of Invention.) 

73. Mathematics, Astronomy and Systems of Measiirement Among Savages. 

All savages have some idea of numbers, although some Ioav tribes have 
been studied AA'hich have no names for numbers higher than tAvo. Practically 
all systems of numbering have been based on the number of fingers on the 
'tAvo hands," Avhich has given rise to the use of the decimal system. In a 
number of languages the same Avord means "hand" and "five," and in others 
ten is designated by "tAvo hands." There seems, hoAvever, to have been a 
tendency among savages to count in tAventies prior to counting in himdreds. 
The more advanced savage tribes have methods for expressing quite high 
numbers. It is stated that the IlaAvaiians had special Avords for four hundred. 



64 

four thousand, forty thousand and four hundred thousand. 

For making records of numbers, many savages have used tallies of straw, 
or pieces of wood, or notches on sticks. It is stated that among the Hawaiians, 
who represent the highest stage of savage development, a full record was 
kept in this way for the purposes of tribute, or taxation. The numbers of 
dogs, hogs, pieces of sandal wood, etc., which each man was to furnish were 
well defined. 

In general, all early measurements are based upon the human body and 
its work. 

As units of distance, we have the fingers, the span, the length of the fore- 
arm, Avhole arm, extended arms, the foot, the pace, the day's journey. From 
these elementary ideas our present units of distance have been derived. 

The dimensions of arrow and spear, and many other savage implements, 
bear some regular relation to the size of the person using them. 

In the matter of weights, the load which a man could carry was the unit 
of measurement. 

Volume in some cases was counted by handfuls, basketfuls, bucketfuls, 
canoefuls, etc. 

Savages know very little of astronomy, but in their highest culture stages 
the priestly classes made observations of the stars, moon and sun over suffi- 
cient periods of time to ascertain the periodical recurrence of certain phen- 
omena, such as the appearance and apparent location in the heavens of the 
moon and the sun, by which they came, eventually, to fix the lengths of 
months and years. 

It is stated that in the ease of Pueblo Indians, openings were left in the 
east walls of certain houses, and marks placed on the west walls, in such a 
wa.y that whenever the rising sun struck through the opening and hit the 
mark it was knoAvn that a certain day of the year had arrived, from which 
their yearly reckoning was dated. 

74. ENGINEERING AMONG SAVAGES. 

Uses of Mechanical Principles. In a broad sense, all that we have been dis- 
cussing in Part II has to do with engineering among savages. In article 74 
there will be taken up only some direct applications of mechanical principles 
:Sor the use and convenience of man. 

It may be stated first of all that savages acquired by long experience a 
practical working knowledge of many mechanical principles. Among these 
there may be enumerated the inclined plane, the lever, the wedge, the 
use of rollers to reduce friction, the column, the beam, and the block and 
tackle. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 63. Primitive engineers, showing Thlinket 
Indians landing a cedar log for communal house. The log is supported by 
rollers and is being hauled xip a sloping beach constituting an inclined plane. 
The work is being done by a large number of men pulling in unison on a 
cable. The frame of the house has already been partially erected, showing 
the use of the column and beam. Nearby are wooden planks which have 
been split from logs by wedges. No. 30. The first tackle, showing Esquimo 
landing a walrus. They have no pulleys but have attached stout, smooth 
pegs to a large mass of rock. They have led rawhide lines around these 
pegs and to the walrus in such a way that when pulling upon the lines the 
power is multiplied just as it would be by a modem block and tackle. (Both 
the above are from Mason's Origins of Invention.) No. 7.1, Navajo jewelry 
and silverware. No. 5.1, a Navajo silversmith. (Both above from Lipps' The 
Navajos.) 

Roads. Savages did little toward the construction of permanent roads. 
However, they had permanent trails which were used for generation after 
generation, the marks of which still show in some of the settled portions of 
the United States. These paths or trails were located in such a way as to 
avoid the principal topographical obstacles to travel, and in some instances 



65 

a little work may even have been done upon them in places to make them 

more passable. 

Transportation of burdens was by human carrier, in general, but with some 
exceptions, as above stated. 

Bridges. Savages have done comparatively little along the line of bridge 
engineering. In some instances they constructed rude foot bridges across 
streams by driving piles, between which logs extended, a railing being often 
provided at the side. In other cases they spanned streams with rude sus- 
pension bridges, a span being hung from rude cables of osiers or other fibers. 

Fortifications. Considerable has been done by savages in the way of forti- 
fications. The great mounds erected by the Mound Builders have already 
been mentioned, one of which contained nearly three quarters of a million 
cubic yards of earth. Earth mounds and walls, which were surrounded by 
palisades, were used in many instances. Among more advanced savages, 
stone masonry walls were built. The cliff dwellings of Pueblo Indians are 
instances in point. 

Irrigation Among Savages. In many instances savages have carried on 
agriculture to obtain food supplies, and they have been driven to overcome 
the lack of moisture in arid regions by irrigation. Mason gives special credit 
to the Pueblo Indians of the arid regions of the United States for irrigation 
works. He quotes Mr. Hodge, who states that the.y engaged in agriculture 
on a large scale by this means in the valleys and on the mountain slopes, 
especially along the drainage of the Gila and the Salado rivers, in southern 
Arizona. The arable tract of the Salado, alone, is stated to comprise about four 
hundred and fifty thousand acres, of which the ancient inhabitants irrigated 
at least two hundred and fifty thousand acres. Lines of main irrigation 
ditches may be readily traced, some of them as long as fourteen miles. The 
remains of flood gates are found, and of reservoirs for storage, one example 
being 250 feet long and 15 feet deep. 

75. Savage Architecture. Architecture among savages began with their 
construction of huts and other dwellings. Some existing tribes never erect 
huts or tents. They go no further than to put up mere shelters, open at 
one side. Among these many may be mentioned the Bushmen of Africa, the 
Australians, and the Fuegians. The Bushman digs a hole at the side of a 
bush or sets up a small mat supported by sticks. "The Australian makes a 
little shed with bark or biashes. The Alforese, of the interior of Ceram. often 
spends his night in a treetop, where he makes a little roof to keep him dry 
when it rains. The low savage of the interior of Sumatra, Borneo and Luzon, 
sleeps in the top or hollow log of a tree."* Prehistoric man in England and 
many other countries used caves as dwelling places. 

Savages have gradually risen from the culture stage in which they erected 
no permanent dwellings, to that of wigwams and temporary huts ; and be- 
yond that to fairly permanent villages and houses; and in the case of the 
Northwest Indians of the United States, and the Five Nations and other 
tribes, to large wooden communal houses: and finally in the case of the Pueblo 
Indians of southwestern United States, to large permanent masonry com- 
munal houses. 

Different tribes have different architecture, so that in Africa the tribe can 
be recognized from the styles of dwellings erected. 

The materials used for savage dwellings vary from hides and mats of 
vegetable fiber, and poles and leaves for thatching, to solid wooden houses, 
adobe construction, and finally stone masonry. 

The Esquimos build huts of snow and ice laid up in the form of a dome, 
and furnish perhaps the earliest culture stage utilization of the ]n-ineiple of 
the arch. However, the permanent houses of the Esquimo. made of stone, 
do not use the principle of the true arch, but the roof is formed by cantilever- 
ing it in from the side walls, using small projections in successive courses. 

•HitteU, Mankind in Ancient Times. 



66 

Savage architecture went beyond the stage of pure utility, evidenced by 
the construction of dwellings. At an early stage savages acquired some idea 
of existence after life, and began to pay funeral honors to their deceased 
relatives and friends. From this rude beginning religious ideas showed a 
gradual development until in the higher stages of savagism there is a regular 
worship of gods, to whom medicine men dedicate their services. This develop- 
ment may be traced to some extent by monumental constructions. The graves 
of savage peoples, as Avell as of barbaric and civilized races, have furnished 
much evidence as to the culture conditions of the people for whom they were 
made. In many eases the mounds erected by savages are for burial purposes, 
and in other cases for religious worship. In early culture stages large stones 
were placed in position by the graves, to serve for monuments as in the case 
of dolmens of Europe, and after a time the stones came to be placed in 
more regular positions. Such monumental construction, of natural stone, 
uncut, may be supposed to have reached its culmination in the famous Stone- 
henge, England. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 83. Group of sacred stones in the Deecan. 
(Reference not ascertained.) No. 48. Holed Dolmen in Circessia, India. The 
holes in the dolmens were left for th free ingress and egress of the spirit of 
the departed. (From The Story of Primitive Man, by Edward Clodd.) No. 37. 
Dolmen in France. (From The Story of Primitive Man, by Edward Clodd.) 
No. 55. Close view of the Trilithons at Stonehenge, England. (From The Story 
of Primitive Man, by Edward Clodd.) No. 84. Stonehenge. England. (Refer- 
ence not ascertained.) No. 86. An ancient adobe. No. 92. Pueblo of Tesuque. 
No. 93 General view of Santa Clara Pueblo. No. 94. One of two house pyra- 
mids, Taos. No. 95. House walls exposed by recent excavations. Pueblo 
Banito, Chaco Canyon. No. 96. General View of Santa Domingo Pueblo. 
No. 97. From a Zuni housetop. No. 98. Towers and Sections of Masonry, Mt. 
Elmo and Chaco Canyons. No. 99. House with balcony. Mesa Verde, Colo. 

TEIBES OF THE HIGHEST SAVAGE CULTURE STAGE. 







i 


Nobility 
Slavery 


Temples 
Despotic 


1 








g 






a 




^ 


2. 




TRIBES 








F 




1 


F 






N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


Creeks 




N 
N 


N 
N 
T 


N 

N 


N 
N 
Y 


M 
N 
N 


N 
N 




Dakotas 




N 


Kaffirs .... — . 




N 


Maoris 




Y 


Y 


N 


Y 




Y 


N 






Y 


Y 


y 


Y 


N 


N 




Fijians 




Y 


Y 


y 


Y 


y 


Y 




rongans „ 




y 


Y 


y 


Y 








Hawaiians 




Y 


Y 


Y 










Tahitians - 





Y 


Y 













TRIBES OP LOWEST SAVAGE CULTURE STAGE. 



Bushmen j;; 

Lowest Californians jj 

Tasmanians -. jj 

Lowest Australians >^t 

Andamanese 

Fuegians — 

Drift Europeans 

Echinus Aleuis 

Hill Veddahs 



\ 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


X 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


Y 


Y 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


X 


N 


Y 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 




Y 


Y 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 






N 




N 


N 




N 


N 






N 




N 


N 




N 


Y 


X 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


N 


JC 



67 

No. 1.1, Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde, Colo. No. 4.1, a Navajo winter hogan. 
(Above eleven from Lipps' The Navajos.) 

76. Resume of Progress in the Savage Culture Stage. Hittell, on pages 
320 and 322 respectively, of Mankind in Ancient Times, gives the following 
tables illustrating common tests of the culture conditions of savages. In these 
tables "N" stands for No., "Y" for Yes, and a blank indicates that no in- 
formation was available. 

In Chapters 4, 5 and 6 a discussion has been given of engineering in the 
savage culture stage, of which a brief resume may now be made as follows: 

The savage culture stage has occupied by far the greater part of the life 
of mankind, extending over a time which is probably measured by hundreds 
of thousands of years, and for a considerable fraction of the human race it 
is not yet ended. 

As to the industries, savages developed to the highest possible degree of 
skill the construction of stone implements, and also made extensive use of 
wood, bone, shell, and ivory for the same purpose. They used earth and 
stone as materials of construction. In the higher stages of savage culture, 
they developed cloth manufacture, pottery and tillage of the soil. 

As to commerce, they developed systems of barter. 

As to land transportation, nearly all was by human carriers. 

In point of navigation, they attained the construction of framed canoes, 
with sails, capable of traversing thousands of miles of the open ocean. 

In engineering, they made use of many mechanical principles, and in some 
instances developed irrigation on a large scale. 

In point of architecture, tliey rose to the construction of great mounds, and 
monuments of uncut stone. 

In point of government, they rose from a condition of absolute auarcliy to 
well organized tribes under despotic chiefs. 

In social institutions, they rose from a state of individualism to a point of 
fairly elaborate social organizations. 

In religion, they rose from a condition of practically no religious ideas, to 
the worship of tribal gods, and the dedication to such gods of the services 
of medicine men; and they set aside for such worship, in some instances, 
regular religious structures. 

In matheniati-cs, they rose to a definite system of enumeration, and in 

physical science to a more or less definite system of weights and measures, 

and to a practical working knowledge of a large mass of scientific phenomena. 

They did not attain to any correct idea of the real nature of these phenomena, 

but were prone to explain them as due to supernatural agencies. 

PART m. 

ENGINEERING IN THE BARBARIC CULTURE STAGE 

CHAPTER VII. 

OUTLINE OF THE BARBARIC CULTURE STAGE. 

77. Definition of Barbarism. There is no sharp dividing line betwefn the 
successive stages of progress in human culture. Except as invasion and con- 
quest by peoples in different culture stages effect sudden changes, culture 
makes a gradual progress which, though, subject to more or less ebb and flow, 
tends to rise even higher. Hence it is not possible to assign definite bounda- 
ries to the different culture stages. 

However, in the general progress of savage races there comes a time when 
the tribal organization gives place to national government, with a correspond- 
ing progress in other phases of culture. When this condition is reached, 
the systematic united efforts of great masses of men can be and are directec^ 
towards the carrying out of carefully formed plans. Social institutions be- 
came highly developed and settled, bringing about a division of labor Avhich 
is favorable to the acquirement of skill in the various handicrafts, and which 
insure the permanent acquisition of all new knowledge acquired, or skill de- 
veloped. This state of society brings about new conditions in engineering 
and general progress, and is, therefore, worthy of a .separate name. It is 
this state of society to which we apply the name "barbarism." 



68 

In Article 76, a resume has been given of the achievements of the human 
race in savagism. We may now define barbarism as follows: The barbaric 
culture stage is that stage in Avhich people first become organized into great 
nations, with higher developed governments, religions, laws and social in- 
stitutions, including a division of industries into organized crafts. 

The barbaric culture stage is marked, wherever development has occurred 
naturally, without strong external influence from higher races, by the use of 
bronze as the best material for cutting implements. It is also marked by the 
first development of great cities, by the first construction of great architec- 
tural monuments, by the first great engineering Avorks, by the extensive de- 
velopment of commerce, and of navigation. 

Barbaric governments become highly developed, with a despotic monarch 
at the head; also with an hereditary nobility or higher class, whose achieve- 
ments and culture are above that of the mass of the people. 

Religions become developed to the point of worship of great national dei- 
ties. However, the great point which distinguishes barbaric from savage 
religion is the inclusion of systematic moral codes as a permanent feature 
of religions. In barbaric religions there is an organized priestly class, and 
great religious temples and monuments make their first appearance. 

Social institutions, in general, become both complex and permanent, as- 
v'ompared with conditions in the savage culture stage. 

Great industries are generally carried on in the barbaric culture stage 
by organized hereditary crafts. Often the members of the same craft live in 
the same portion of their city. Mechanical progress under these conditionns 
was neecessarily very much more rapid than during the savage culture stage, 
when each new discovery had to be made over and over again by countless 
different individuals, in many generations, before it became a permanent ac- 
quisition of the while race. 

78. The Barbaric Nations. Hittell* enumerates the following barbaric 
nations of ancient and modern times : The ancient Mexicans, the ancient Pe- 
ruvians, the Chinese, the Teutons, the Celts, the Hindus, the Chaldeans and 
Assyrians, the ancient Jews, the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Persians, the 
Phoenecians, the Etruscans, the Carthaginians, and the modern Mohamme- 
dans. In these notes we shall, for the present, omit special discussion of the 
Carthaginians. Estruscans, Jews, Teutons, Celts, and modern Mohammedans. 

79. Culture Stages of Different Barbaric Nations. In our study of barbar- 
ic culture, it will no longer be possible, as in the case of savage culture, to 
give a general discussion of each phase of culture. It will now be necessary 
to devote a separate discussion to each barbaric nation. This fact marks 
clearly the distinction between savage and barbaric culture, as already point- 
ed out in Article 77. It will therefore be convenient and desirable to study 
the different barbaric nations in order of their progress in culture, although 
this plan is sub.ject to the disadvantage of making it necessary to study, 
first, nations which in point of time are much more recent than older barbaric 
races which attained higher advancement in culture. Following this plan, 
it becomes necessary, as intimated in Article 5, to consider first and second 
the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians, and last of all the ancient Egyptians, 
Chaldeans and Assyrians, although the culture of the Mexicans and Peruvi- 
ans was many thousands of years later, in point of time, than that of the 
other races named. 

* In point of order of ciilture. the barbaric nations may be ranked approx- 
imately as follows : 

First, and second, the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians; who were m the 
lowest known stage of barbaric c\ilture, and had emerged from savagism at 
a comparatively recent date Avhen Europeans came into contact with them. 

Third, the Chinese; Avho, while having a continuous history which has ex- 
tended back to some thousands of vears B. C, have shown until recently 



'Mankind in Ancient Times. Vol. II, page 9. 



69 

a wonderful absence of change in culture conditions. Without attempting 
to determine the rank of their culture, we will consider them next after the 
Peruvians. 

Fourth, while the ancient Hindus did not, perhaps, exert any very great 
intluence in mechanical lines upon the history of the world, yet they may be 
placed fourth in these notes, because of their great contributions to mathe- 
matics, literature and religion, and also because they are a branch of that 
great Aryan race whose Greek and Roman representatives were the first peo- 
pel to attain the culture stage of civilization. 

Fifth, and sixth, the Chaldeans who inhabited the Euphrates Valley and 
the ancient Egyptians who inhabited the Nile Valley contest with each other 
for the honor of being the first people to emerge from savagism into barbar- 
ism. Archaeologists are still in doubt as to which of these two centers of 
culture Avas developed the first. Both the Chaldean and Egyptian cultures 
came into direct contact with the ancient Greeks, who later developed the 
first civilized culture. Hence, the Chaldeans and Egyptians had very great 
influence upon the development of European eivilizaticm, and in fact an 
unbroken continuity can be traced in the progress of culture from that first 
developed in the valleys of the Euphrates and Nile down to that of the pres- 
ent time. In connection with this development the Phoenicians and Persians 
were very important factors and will merit discussion in this study. Little 
attention, however, will be given to the other barbaric nations mentioned 
in Article 78. 

80. Chronology of Barbaric Culture Stage. As has already been stated, 
the barbaric nations will be considered in part HI approximately in the order 
of their culture condition, and not in order of point of time. It is desirable, 
however, that the sti^dent should have a clear idea of the ehronolog;,- of the 
barbaric culture stage, and hence, some mention will be made in this article 
of the approximate dates of the culture of each of the barbaric nations. 

Mexico. More or less definite records and traditions carry back the history 
of the race whom the Spaniards found in possession of the country at the time 
of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards in 1520 for several hundred years ; 
or say. approximately to 1000 A. D. It is evident that the culture which 
existed at that time must have required a long period of (h^velopment. proba- 
bly by races preceding those found by the Spaniards. 

Peru. Exactly the same statement may be made concerning the dates of 
the Peruvian culture as have just been made for Mexico. The Spanish con- 
quest was in 1535. By tradition and record, the history of the Inca race has 
been carried back for several hundred years, and a long period of develop- 
ment is manifestly necessary for the state of cultui-e attained by the races 
preceding this. 

China. The Chinese is the oldest existing civilization. Its history goes 
back to between two and three thousand years B. C, and the culture condi- 
tion of the people has undergone very little change during the entire four or 
five thousand years of its histoiy. Confucius lived 550 to 471 B. C. 

India.. The Aryan race seems to have invaded India from the Northwest, 
at, perhaps, as early as 2000 B. C. The Indian culture bas been continuous 
from that time down to the present. Buddah lived about 557-477 B. C. 
Alexander the Great conquered a portion of India in 327 B. C. 

Egypt. The dates of Egyptian liistory are not accurately established. There 
seems to be good authority for assigning 4000 to 5000 B. C. as approximately 
the date of the first permanent records. Myers adopts 5000 B. C. At this 
date Egyptian culture had already attained an advanced stage, wliicli must 
have required thousands of years of previous development. The history of 
Egyptian culture is continuous from the date already mentioned down to the 
conquest of the country by various foreign nations, and its final absorption 
into the Roman Empire, about 30 B. C. 



70 

Chaldea and Assyria. Many authorities believe that the ancient civiliza- 
tion of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley was the first in the world to reach a stage 
as high as the barbaric. There has been a dispute as to which was first de- 
veloped, the Egyptian culture or that of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. The 
fairly authentic dates in the history of these countries, as well as in Egypt, 
extend back to approximately 4000 or 5000 B. C, and at the time of the ear- 
liest established dates, civilization had already reached so high a stage that 
many thousands of years must have been required for its development. 

The following outline is taken from a history syllabus for secondary schools, 
prepared by a special committee of the New England Teachers Association, 
pages 60-68. 

Pre-historic, or prior to 3800 B. C. 

The Chaldean Empire, 3800 B. C. to 1250 B. C. 

The Assyrian Empire, upper part of valley, 1250 B. C. to 606 B. C. 

Later Babylonian Empire, 606 B. C. to 538 B. C. 

Persia. The Persian Empire succeeded the Babylonians and continued to 
the date of its conquest by Alexander the Great. The dates 558 to 338 B. C. 
are assigned to it by Myers. 

Phoenicia. The Phoenicians were a maritime nation and had much to do 
with spreading the culture of the Nile and the Tigris-Euphrates Valleys 
throughout the Mediterranean region. Myers states that the Mediterranean 
was already dotted with the sails of the Phoenician navigators at the time 
to which our first knowledge reaches, say, about 1500 B. C. and Tyre still re- 
mained a very important city in 332 B. C. when captured by Alexander the 
Great. 

Teutons and Celts. The Teutons and the Celts were barbaric people, to 
the north of the Roman Empire, throughout its entire history, who eventually 
conquered it in the 5th century A. D., and thus developed European civili- 
zation. 

81. Bronze. As has already been stated a number of times, the discovery 
of bronze marked the transition from savagism to barbarism, in the case 
of many nations where culture developed naturally ; without interference 
from contact with peoples of higher civilizations. Copper, the first metal 
to be used for tools and implements, was too soft to be of great service. In- 
dependently a number of peoples discovered, when they had learned to build 
fires hot enough to melt copper and other ores, that copper could be hardened 
by admixture of a small proportion of tin or zinc. In some cases lead or 
silver appear to have been added for the same purpose, although the addition 
of silver may have been merely accidental. The mixture of copper and zinc 
produced brass, and in the Bible and other books the original native words 
which meant bronze have in many eases been translated brass. It was the 
mixture of copper and tin, however, to form bronze, which gave to barbaric 
peoples their characteristic metal. Zinc and lead were sometimes used in 
conjunction with tin. 

At first the proper amounts of tin to be added were not understood, and it 
was added in small and irregular quantities. Gradually more skill was ac- 
quired in the manufacture of bronze, and the properties of different mixtures 
were more thoroughly ascertained. Bronze Avas greatly superior to stone as 
a material for implements and weapons. The first bronze tools and weapons 
closely copied the shape of the stone implements of the older neolithic cul- 
ture. More characteristic and suitable forms were developed in the later 
stages of the bronze culture. 

Iron was undoubtedly discovered and used to a limited extent long before 
bronze went out of iise as the principal metal. In some cases, for example, 
iron ax heads and cutting edges Avere mounted on bronze handles. Some 
writers have surmised that iron was much more common in the barbaric cul- 
ture stage than is commonly supposed, and explain the absence of numerous 
iron implements in barbarian ruins by the supposition that such iron tools 



71 

had been destroyed by oxidation, while the bronze implements had remained 
practically unaffected, and hence are now much more numerous. However, 
the existence of the bronze age is proved by other testimony than that of the 
implements found. In the various Aryan languages, for example, the words 
for "bronze" are practically identical, although the nations have scattered 
to regions as widely separated as Hindustan, Greece, Rome, and Western Eu- 
rope. The names for iron on the other hand, are different in the same lan- 
guages, of nations of the same stock, showing that iron was not discovered 
until after the separation of the different nations had taken place. 

In various other ways the existence of a bronze age preceding that of iron 
has been demonstrated. For example, after iron came into common use, bronze, 
being the older metal, was specified for many sacred uses, in connection with 
religious customs, just as, during the bronze age, sacrifices were required to 
be made with implements of stone. lu the Bible we learn that the only metals 
allowed to be used on the construction of the tabernacle were gold, silver and 
bronze ; and for the altar, erected by the Israelites after crossing the Jordan, 
the stones were not to be touched with any iron tool. This indirect evidence 
helps to prove the existence of a bronze age between those of stone and iron. 
Iron, however, is much superior to bronze, as a material of construction 
in every respect except resistence to rusting. Iron is very widely disseminated 
over the surface of the earth, and constitutes a considerable per cent of the 
materials of the outer crust. Copper is a much more rare metal, and more 
costly in our day. Tin, zinc and lead are still more rare than copper. 

Iron and steel tools are much superior to those of bronze. Iron can be 
welded, while bronze must be cast, and the only method of mending a broken 
bronze article was by recasting. Iron does not materially change its proper- 
ties under repeated treatment, but bronze lost some proportion of tin after 
each recasting. These advantages brought about the general use of iron 
throughout the latter part of the barbaric age, and have led to its adoption 
by modern barbarians, and even by modern savage tribes, who have learned 
its use. not by natural culture development, but through its introduction by 
more highly civilized peoples. 

82 The Effect of Barbaric Culture Conditions upon Engineering. The rate 
of development of engineering in the barbaric culture stage was very rapid, 
as compared with the savage stage. 

In the first place, the giving over of the mechanical industries to hered- 
itary crafts enabled tlie entire craft to acquire any new discovery which might 
be made by one workman. It enabled the skill of each generation and the pro- 
gress made by it to be handed down to the next generation; which was, 
therefore, in a position to effect further px-ogress. Under such an organization 
of the industrial crafts, many new materials, and principles of construction, 
new processes, and new products, were soon developed, and in their turn 
tliey added to the irapidity of industrial progress. 

Further the organization of the industrial crafts permitted the govern- 
ment to exert a direct control over them and to direct their energies in any 
desired direction, to further the execution of eorapreluMisive plans. 

In fact, the direction by despotic governments of the united efforts of great 
masses of men in the carrying out of the plans, and even of the whims, of 
the ruler, and of the priestly class, is perhaps, the most important characteri- 
tic of engineering throughout the barbaric culture stage. Not only were 
great masses of men required to work to one common end. but in many cases 
plans were formed whose execution required more than one generation. For 
year after year, throughout a long period of time, great masses of men could 
"be requisitioned for any public work. Engineering in the barbaric culture 
stage is, therefore, remarkable for the great magnitude of some of the con- 
structions successfully carried out. For example, in ]\Iexico, the pyramid 
of Cholula required for its construction 4Vo million cubic yards of material, 
supposed to have been mainly sun dried brick. Some of the architectural 
ruins in Yucatan and Central-America must have required the contnnious 
work of multitudes of men for more than one generation. 



72 

We read of aqueducts in Peru some four or five hundred miles in length, 
and of two roads each 2000 miles long. In China, we have the Grand Canal, 
650 miles long, and the Great Wall, 1500 miles in length. In Egypt, aeeord- 
iaig to Herodotus, an hundred thousand men labored thirty years in the erec- 
tion of the Great Pyramid, which still remains the greatest single mass of ma- 
sonry ever erected by man. In the valley of the Tigris-Euphrates, irrigation 
canals were constructed of sufficient magnitude to take the entire flow of one 
of these great rivers ; and we read with amazement, and even doubt, of reser- 
voirs large enough to hold the flow for days at a time. 

In architecture, the columns of some of the great temples of Egypt have 
never since been equalled in magnitude. 

83. General Similarity of Climatic and Geological Conditions in Ancient 
Civilization. There seems to be a marked similarity in the general climatic 
conditions under which ancient civilizations have developed. In America, 
the high semi-arid lands of Mexico and Peru, with their extremely equable 
climates, were the centers of American civilizations. The Egyptian civili- 
zation developed in the valley of the Nile in Africa, and the Chaldean and 
Assyrian in the valley of the Tigris-Eiiphrates rivers, both under climatic 
conditions quite similar to those of Mexico and Peru. The Chinese civilization 
developed first in the valley of the Yellow River, in a country sepa- 
rated from the rest of the world by great deserts and mountain chains. 
The first Indo-Aryan civilization appeared in the semi-arid valleys of the 
great Indian rivers, of the southern slopes of the Himalaya mountains, in re- 
gions requiring irrigation on an extensive scale. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
ENGINEERING IN ANCIENT MEXICO. 

84. Ancient Mexican Countries and Races. There were two centers of 
culture in ancient Mexico at the time of its conquest by the Spaniards in 
1520. 

The more northern and more extensive had its centers in the Valley of Mex- 
ico, situated in the middle of the great interior table land. Following the 
route of the Spaniards as they landed on the Atlantic coast, at Vera Cruz, 
there comes : First, a strip of low hot country along the Atlantic coast ; second, 
a great chain of mountains, the climate changing from tropical to temperate 
as these are climbed ; third, a vast, elevated interior table land. The Valley of 
Mexico, surrounded by a rampart of mountains, occupied the center of this 
great table land, over which prevailed a semi-arid climate, requiring irriga- 
tion for the most successful operations of agrictilture. In the Valley lay sev- 
eral lakes, upon one of which was located the ancient city of Mexico. 

Occupying this valley and the surrounding regions were a number of 
tribes, or nations, of an Indian stock which is known as the Nahuan. Part of 
these were allied with the Aztecs in ruling the ancient Mexican Empire, which 
extended from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific, and from North Latitude 15 
degrees to 22 degrees. Not nearly all of the area included within this ter- 
ritory, however, was under the rule of the Aztecs, there being a number of 
hostile nations or tribes. 

The climate of the Valley of Mexico was very equable. It is stated that the 
extremes of temperature at different times of the year are only between 52 de- 
grees F., in January, and 65 degrees F., in July. This variation of only 13 
degrees between extremes, may be compared with 25 degrees at London, which 
has as uniform a climate as any capital of Europe, and with 45 degrees at New 
York City. 

The Valley of :\Iexico, with this equable climate, and defended from exter- 
nal enemies by almost impassable barriers, was a very favorable point for 
the development of ancient culture. 

To the south and southeast of Mexico, in southern Mexico. Central Ameri- 
ca, and the isthmus of Yucatan, lay the second great center of Mexican cul- 
ture. The Indian races occupying this territory are known as the Mayan. 



Yucatan, which perhaps is best known in connection with the Mayan cul- 
ture, has a very peculiar geological and topographical formation. It is a lime- 
stone country, very level in its topography, and almost without running 
streams, since the water which falls upon the surface penetrates into crevices 
and passages in the limestone strata. At various points great sink holes have 
been formed, though solution of the limestone rocks by underground water, 
just as in many other regions where limestone forms the surface strata. It 
is at the bottom of these sink holes that almost the entire water supply of the 
country is obtained. 

Outside of Yucatan, Palenqua, in the state of Chiapis, Mexico, is the site 
of famous ruins of an ancient city. At Oaxaca, in Roathern Mexico occur 
extensive remains of ancient earth work constructions. Here the ancient races 
are called Zapotecs. At Mitla, about thirty miles east and southeast of Oaxa- 
ca, occur some of the most celebrated masonry architectural remains. 

Copan, in Honduras, is another noted center of extensive architectural ruins. 

Illustrative Lajitem Slide No. 224, Map of the Valley of Mexico at the time 
of the Spanish conquest (from Prescott). 

85. History of Ancient Mexican Races. It has already been stated that 
ancient Mexico was discovered and conquered by the Spaniards in 1520. The 
Mexicans, of both the Mayan and the Aztec races, had systems of hieroglyph- 
ic writing, and moi'e or less imperfect historical records. Unfortunately, 
these were practically destroyed by the Spaniards, and very little is known 
of the aiithentic historj- of the Mexican races, prior to the time of the Spanish 
conquest. In the case of the Aztecs more is known than in the case of the 
Mayans. 

According to Prescott,* the Aztecs were preceded by the Toltees, who were 
supposed by him to have been, perhaps, more advanced in culture than the 
Aztecs; and he surmised they were responsible for many of the extensive 
constructions whose ruins are still found in Mexico. All dates prior to the 
time of the Spanish conquest are very uncertain. Prescott thinks that the 
Toltees might have come from the north of the valley of the Mexico at about 
800 A. D., and the Aztecs from the same direction at about 1200 A. D. 

The Spanish conquest practically destroyed the ancient Mexican culture, 
although the descendants of these ancient peoples, with their blood inter- 
mingled with that of their conquerors, still inhabit the same regions. 

86. General Culture Condition of the Ancient Mexicans. It has already 
been stated, in Article 79, that the Mexicans occupied a low position among 
barbaric nations in point of culture condition. 

Mexican culture represents simply an advance upon that of the North Amer- 
ican Indians, and Mound Builders, and Pueblo Indians, though there are 
some anomalies in connection with it which can most readily be explained 
by assuming that Mexican civilization had been influenced by the crews of 
shipwrecked vessels, driven across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, from 
Europe and Asia respectively. 

They knew of bronze, but used it so seldom that i\Iexican bronze implements 
are among the most rare specimens to be found in archeological museums. 

The general system of qnvcrnmcnt, was quite advanced. The emperor was 
chosen from the royal family by a council of four electors. There was a reg- 
ular organization of ministers and advisers. The Aztecs had a good judicial 
system, with courts of appeal to insure the administration of justice. There 
was a system of hereditary and appointive nobility. Slaves were well pro- 
tected by the laws and every child was born free. 

The Aztec reliqion included a moral code of a very advanced character, 
containing much that is similar to our moral religious codes of the present 
day. In contrast with this may be mentioned the extensive system of human 
religious sacrifices, with accompanying cannibal customers. There was an 
extensive priestly class. 

* Conquest of America. 



74 

Mexican art Avas grotesque and comparatively rude. There were many 
temples. 

The Mexican government maintained an extensive army, with a regular 
systematic organization, under officers of different rank. It is stated that 
200,000 men could be put into the field. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 271. Small section of paneled design 
from lintel in Catholic Establishment group of Mitla. (Prom Holmes.) No. 
229. Altar piece in stucco, from Palenque. (From Holmes, after Waldeck.) 
No. 247. Sanctuary tablet, with sculptures in low relief. (From Holmes.) 
No. 246. Onyx tablet from interior temple wall. (From Holmes.) No. 226. 
Sculptured stone idol, at Copan, Honduras, 13 feet high. (From Stevens.) 
All of the above illustrating ancient Mexican art. 

Social conditions among the Aztecs were comparatively high. The children 
of the upper classes were given the advantages of education at regular schools, 
conducted at temples by the priests. 

87. Ancient Mexican Science, Mathematics, etc. It has already been stated 
that the ^Mexicans had a system of hieroglyphic writing. In the development 
of hieroglyphics, three stages are recognized. In the first stage, we have 
picture writing, of which the American Indians have the beginning type in 
our own day. By more or less rude representations of actual objects and 
happenings, ideas are conveyed to other than the writers. In the second 
stage, the representations are conventionalized into hieroglyphics proper, with 
very slight resemblance to actual objects, ana eacli cnaracter is maae to repre- 
sent a word or an idea rather than an actual object or occurrence. In the 
third stage, the hieroglyphics represent sounds, or syllables, rather than words. 

The Mexicans had developed all three stages, but at so recent a period that 
the meaning of the different hieroglyphics varied under different conditions, 
and hence only carefully trained natives could decipher Mexican writings 
Unfortunately the art of deciphering them Avas lost at the time of the eon- 
quest, and has never been recovered. 

The ancient Mexicans wrote their hooks iipon sheets of paper, made from 
the Maguey plant. This paper was prepared in long strips, which were folded 
in zig-zag fashion. The addition of a cover on each side made a rectangular 
book, quite similar to our modern books, which may be contrasted Avith the 
roUs upon Avhich the ancient Greeks and Romans did their Avriting in the first 
ciA'ilized culture stage. These Mexican books Avere more convenient than 
such rolls. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 240. Inscribed stela, or column. (From 
Holmes.) No. 213. Mayan hieroglyphics. (BaldAvin's Ancient America.) Both 
the above illustrate the character of the Ancient Mexican hieroglyphics. 

The Mexicans had developed a system of Mathenrntics, Avith multiples of 
twenty as the basis of their numbers. They had separate names for the num- 
bers from one to five. Six Avas five-one ; seven, five-tAvo, etc. There Avere also 
separate Avords for tAventy, four hundred, and eight thousand. In Avriting 
numbers, a point equalled one ; a flag, tAventy ; a feather, four lumdred, and 
a purse, eight thousand. By coloring fractional portions of these symbols 
they could indicate three-fourths, one-half, one-fourth, etc.. of each number. 
Thus, three-fourths of a purse, one-fourth of a feather, one-half of a flag, and 
two dots, Avould indicate the number six thousand, one hundred twelve. It is 
stated that this system of Avriting numbers Avas more simple than that in use 
by the ancient Romans. In their commercial transactions, the Mexicans kept 
accounts by systems of tallies, as Avas the case Avith the more advanced savage 
tribes. 

The ]\Iexicans had a highly developed calendar system. Avhich s-hows that 
they must liave kept astronomical records for a long period of years. In gen- 
eral, such records began to be kept by savage nations, in their later culture 
stages, and especially, Avheu they developed religious systems in Avhich priests 
devoted their full time to priestly duties. A continued ol)servation of different 
phases of the moon gave the idea of the lunar month at a comparatively early 



75 

stage of culture. Similarly, observations of shadows cast by the sun shining 
upon a fixed object, together with observations of the positions of the stars, 
in the heavens at different seasons of the year, gave, after a time, a measure 
of the length of the year. Barbaric peoples, and even some savage tribes, 
have pillars and other devices for conducting such astronomical observations. 

Similarly, observations of eclipses, continued and recorded for long periods 
of time, accumulated after a time data from which eclipses could be predicted, 
although the prediction of eclipses belongs to a more advanced stage of cul- 
ture than that of the Mexicans. However, Prescott states that the true cause 
of eclipses of the moon, namely that of the shadow of the earth cast upon it 
by the sun, was shown on their picture writings. 

They had a more accurate calendar system than that used by more advanced 
nations, even the Romans and Greeks. The Mexican week was five days long. 
They divided the year into eighteen months, of twenty days each, witli five 
intercalary days at the end. Four years constituted a quadrennial period. 
After an epoch, of thirteen such periods, of fifty-two years, they added twelve 
and a half surplus days, just as we add one each leap year. Hence, 365.24 
days constituted a Mexican year, which was nearer to the correct length than 
the Roman year. 

The ancient Mexican calendar was recorded in one instance upon a large 
stone, some eleven feet in diameter, the zodiacal signs being cut into the hard 
porphyry. This famous "calendar stone" is still in existence in the City of 
Mexico. 

The Aztecs had, of course, little knowledge of science, as we know it at 
the present time. Hittell claims that they had a system of balances and 
weights. Most authorities, however, deny their use of scales. 

In connection with ^Mexican science, it is a noteworthy fact that at the 
time of the Spanish conquest they had great botanical and zoological gardens, 
the largest in the world at that time. It is stated that at the City of Mexico, 
600 men were required to care for the menagerie alone. 

88. Ancient Mexican Commerce and Manufactures. 

Commerce. Commerce was carried on. among the ancient ^Mexicans. l)y a 
series of weekly fairs, held at the ^lexican cities, at intervals of five days. 
The merchants transported packages of such size that they could be carried 
by slave porters, on land, or in canoes, on water. These merchants' caravans 
penetrated into the surrounding countries, and carried on active commerce 
with their peoples. 

Agriculture. In agriculture, tlie ancient ^Mexicans were very exi)ert. al- 
though they used rude tools. The ground was cultivated by means of wooden 
digging sticks, or spades, with a cross-piece near the bottom for ajipljang 
pressure with the foot in forcing the spade into the ground. The land was 
owned largely by the emperor, the nobles and the church. It was laid out in 
regular fields, which were farmed by the freemen. 

Crafts. The mechanical industries among the ancient Mexicans were carried 
on by separate crafts, the number of which may be judged from the following 
enumei-ation made by Hittell:* "^Miners, smelters, smiths, burnishers, en- 
gravers in metal, gilders, quarrymen, stone masons, stone polishers, cutters of 
gems, makers of mosaics, sculptors, enamelers, jewelers, knife makers, lime 
burners, charcoal burners, brick makers. i)otters, plasterers, boat builders, car- 
penters, dressers of skins, weavers, cacoo grinders, bakers, brewers, cigar 
makers, barbers, salt boilers. pai)er makers, India rubber workers, and manu 
facturers of medicines and pigments." 

Manufactvres. The extent of manufactures can l)e judged by the list of 
crafts, given above. 

While India rubber was known, its use was not prominent. 

The ancient Mexicans were especially expert in the manufacture of cotton 
cloth. They spun the cotton into threads so fine that the fabric woven from 
it was compared by the Spaniards to silk. 

*.\\anklni1 in Ancient Time^. Vol. II. paec 20. 



76 

Mexican feather garments were still more remarkable than their cotton 
cloths, and attracted much attention in Europe when sent there at the time 
of the Spanish conquest. 

The maguey plant was very important in ancient Mexican economy. They 
secured a food from its roasted roots; they manufactured an intoxicating 
beverage from its sap; they made cloth from its fiber; and paper from its 
leaves, which were also used for the thatching of the houses. 

89. Ancient Mexican Tools and Mechanical Devices. The metal workers of 
the ancient Mexicans were able to cast gold and silver in such a way that the 
two metals would unite at their edges without mixing. The secret of this art 
has been lost. For example, they made artificial fish, in which the alternating 
scales were gold and silver. 

As has already been stated, there has been a dispute as to whether or not 
the ancient Mexicans were acquainted with the use of scales. 

While they had begun to use bronze, yet stone was their principal material 
for cutting implements, and they made use of wood, bone, and shell, in a 
manner already indicated in the description of savage culture. With these 
implements, they were able to execute skillful work in many lines. Some 
examples of their skill in stone carving are shown in the illustrative lantern 
slides, in which also are shown a broken bone di*ill, which was found where 
it had actually been used in drilling a piece of hard stone. 

The cutting implements of the ancient ilexicans were largely made of 
obsidian, a dark transparent mineral, exceedingly hard, found in abundance 
in the hills, which could readily be flaked off into knives of considerable 
length. Obsidian knives were so sharp as to be used by the barbers, but the 
edges of implements were soon blunted. 

The Mexican sword, the maquahuitl, consisted of blades of stone set in 
a wooden handle. 

In view of the high degree of skill in stone cutting which was attained by 
the ancient Mexicans, it seems remarkable that the only implements which 
they used for this work consisted of rude stone picks, with wooden handles. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 267. Four views of a sculptured stone 
yoke, showing skill in carving hard stone with rude implements. No. 272. 
Cross section of a perforated tablet, showing broken bone drill vp'hieh has been 
used in preparing the tablet. (Both the above from Holmes' "Visit to Buried 
Cities of Ancient Mexico." Vol. II.) No. 85. Zuni jeweler drilling turquois, 
showing method used by ancient artisans to drill hard stones. 

90. Mining and Metallurgy in Ancient Mexico. The ancient Mexicans 
mined gold, silver, copper and tin. They also used cinnabar for pigment, and 
Hittel questions whether they might not also have known how to sublimate 
it for quicksilver, which would explain some of their metallurgical processes 
which are not now understood. There is, however, no authentic record of 
their use of quicksilver. In their mining operations, they knew how to sink 
shafts, and run tunnels. They washed gold from alluvial deposits. 

Prescott states that they obtained silver, lead and tin from the mines of 
Taseo, and copper from the mines of Zacatallan. 

In their metallurgical operations, they used furnaces for smelting the ores 
of copper, tin, lead and silver, and in casting metals, with bellows for forced 
draft. They made blow pipes, crucibles and moulds. From the precious 
metals they made many articles of use and ojnament, such as vases, plates, 
mirrors, bells, ear-rings, bracelets, armlets, anklets, cups, bowls, dishes, pots, 
kettles with fixed and movable handles. 

]\Iention has already been made of the dispute over the question as to 
whether or not they had scales. Hittell says they did, and that they deter- 
mined the proportion of alloys by the principle of specific gravity. They had 
no solder, but cast gold and silver in such a way as to unite them along a 
sharp line. As already stated, this is an art which is no longer known. 

91. Ceramics in Ancient Mexico. The ancient ]\Iexicans were very skillful 
in the manufacture of pottery. Holmes stated that in a district at the city 



77 

of Mexico extending two or three miles to the northeast from the Mexican 
Railway station, excavations for brick making have exposed sections of soil 
eighteen or twenty feet deep, in which the entire deposit seems filled with 
ruins of dwellings, and that at least one-fourth of the mass is composed of 
broken pottery. The prevailing ware is extremely rude, but mixed in v/ith it 
is a better product, with polished and painted surfaces, and near the top are 
countless numbers of broken Aztec vases. It is surmised that the ancient 
potters might have had their markets located in this vicinity. The deposits 
have not been thoroughly studied. 

The Mexican potters did not invent or use the potter's wheel. 

The manufacture of brick was also a very important department of the 
ceramic art of the ancient Mexicans. The ma.iority of the dwellings of the 
lower classes were made of adobe, or sun dried brick, often placed on stone 
foundations. The Mexicans also made burned brick. 

Floors were sometimes paved with tiles. 

In many cases the mortar for their masonry was made of earth mixed with 
pebbles and limestone fragments, but lime was extensively burned to make 
true lime mortar. 

They also burned gypsum to use for stucco, which was employed in large 
quantities in finishing the surfaces of their dwellings, and of masonry struc- 
tures in general. 

92. Ancient Mexican Masonry. While the houses of the common people, 
as has already been stated, were generally made of adobe, or sun dried brick, 
the better class of dwellings were frequently made of stone masonry, es- 
pecially in those localities where easily worked stone occurred in abundance. 

The ancient Mexicans also used masonry very extensively for covering the 
inclined surfaces and terraces of their great pyramids, and for the building 
of palaces, temples, and other monumental structures. Hittell states that they 
used porphyry-, basalt, marble and granite extensively in their architectural 
constructions, and onyx and brick occasionally. Prescott states that the 
houses and other masonry structures in ancient Mexico were made of 
amygdaloid. 

According to Holmes, the masonry in Yucatan was made of blocks of a 
limestone which could readily be broken into regular shapes, and which could 
be easily worked. At Palenque, also, the material was limestone, somewhat 
harder than that at Yiieatan. At Mitla, in southei-n Mexico, the material was 
trachyte, which breaks dov u in great blocks, of regular shape, along exposed 
cliffs, and which is very tractable and easily Avorked, while at the same time 
tough and durable 

Both the Nahuan and the Mayan races showed skill in quarrying, transport- 
ing and shaping stone for their masonry constructions. The individual blocks 
were, in many cases, of large size, and great weight; yet these great masses 
of stone were transported in large quantities for many miles at Mitla, and 
doubtless at other cities. At Mitla. Holmes discovered the anci<Mit quarries. 
The main quarries are located at an elevation about 1000 feet higher thiin the 
city, and at a distance of about five or six miles. The individual l)locks of 
stone weighed many tons. Two miles east of Mitla he found a partially hewn 
block of trachyte, which was originally twenty-five feet long by five or six 
feet square, and which therefore must have weighed about sixty tons. 

The ancient calendar stone at the city of Mexico was trausi)orted a dis- 
tance of, perhaps, thirty miles across rough country, and is stated by Prescott, 
to have weighed fifty tons. (Hittell says twenty-four tons.) 

In all eases of transporting great Aveights, the work was done l)y lartre 
numbers of men working in unison, and dragging the stone by human strength. 
Doubtless levers and rollers and sledges were used, very much as we see illus- 
trated on the monuments of ancient Egypt and Chaldea. There is a legend to 
the effect that ten thousand men were used in transporting the "calendar 
stone" of ancient INIexico. 

Considering the degree of skill in stone cutting shown in the ornamenta- 
tion of the masonry of still existing architectural ruins, it seems hardly 



78 

credible that the work could have been executed entirely with rude picks 
and other implements of stone, yet this seems to be demonstrated. In fact, 
Holmes found the ancient stone cutters' tools, in the immediate vicinity of 
the quarries where the stone was secured and wrough. These tools are simply 
rude picks and hammers of stone, views of some of which are given in the 
illustrative lantern slides. In use they were, of course, provided Avith handles 
of wood. 

The government was despotic, and the work of great numbers of men could 
be commanded for year after year, without pay, for any public service. 

In their quarrying, the individual stones were separated from the strata by 
vertical cuts about a foot wide, surrounding them on all sides, these cuts 
being made by pounding Avith the stone picks already referred to. After the 
stone was separated on all sides it Avas undercut, and then detached by 
Avedging. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. Nos. 233, 275 and 228. ShoAving method of 
cutting out blocks of trachyte in a quarry. (From Holmes, drawn from actual 
observation.) No. 244. Stone Picks. No. 266. Stone Hammers and picks. 
Found by Holmes in the vicinity of the Mitla quarries. These are good speci- 
mens of the tools Avhich Avere used in quarrying and shaping stones by the 
ancient Mexicans, and with Avhicli finely executed ornamental carvings were 
produced. In actual use they Avere of course provided with wooden handles. 
No. 289. Court and east chamber of the Quadrangle of the Greques, ruins of 
Mitla. No. 258. Part of the sculptured facade, "Governor's Palace," Uxmal, 
Yucatan, 10 feet high by 725 feet long, containing tAventy thousand elaborately 
sculptured pieces of stone. These slides are all taken from Holmes, and il- 
lustrate the nature of the stone cutting done with the rude tools above. 

While the ancient Mexicans did use and carve great masses of stone, as 
already indicated, in their masonry constructions, yet it must not be supposed 
that the bulk of their masonry structures was made of such great stone blocks. 
In fact their knoAvledge of the proper principles of masonry constructions was 
limited, and they violated many of the elementary principles which are fol- 
lowed today by all engineers and architects. They did not knoAv the principle 
of breaking joints, for example, nor that of properly bonding the masonry 
across the Avail. 

Their Avails Avere very thick, in some cases occupying more than half the 
area of the building. In general, they consisted of a facing and a backing of 
stone blocks, and a connecting hearting, which Avas made of earth, mingled 
Avith limestone fragments and pebbles. 

They also used limestone mortar extensively, both in laying up the facing 
and backing, and in the making of the hearting. Analyses have been made 
of this mortar, which shoAV that it Avas probably made of burned lime, rather 
than pulverized limestone. 

Hittell states that the ancient IMexieans were acquainted with the principle 
of the true arch, and that they used it in ovens, and similar small construc- 
tions, but not in architecture. The author of these lectures has not seen any 
other evidence than this of the use by the ancient Mexicans of the principle 
of the true arch. In their architectural constructions they invariably used the 
horizontal coursed arch, which has been independently developed by many 
nations, and Avas even known to many savage trikes, such as the Esquimos. 

In constructing the horizontal coursed arch, the space to be spanned is 
arched over by successively projecting courses of horizontal masonry, which 
finally meet at" the center. The principle is that of the cantilever, rather than 
that of the true arch. In Mexican masonry structures the space arched over 
Avas narrow, being only a fcAv feet Avide. To prevent the over balancing of 
the walls before the projections met at the top, Avooden poles, or in some cases, 
stone slabs Avere used during construction, and their remains are often en- 
countered still. 

While the Mexicans generally used the horizontal coursed arch to roof over 
enclosed spaces, yet in ordinary dAvellings they used beams and poles covered 
Avith packed earth, and at Mitla the same principle Avas foUoAved in covering 



79 

over their monumental structures. In some eases, however, slabs of stone 
were substituted for wooden beams or poles. In a few cases, the Mexicans 
seem to have used columns to support such roofs. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 239. (From Holmes.) Shows cross-section 
of Mayan arches and illustrates the character of their masonry, as already 
described above. No. 237. (From Holmes.) A cross-section of a Mayan ma- 
sonry structure, with an interior division wall, showing wooden lintels over 
openings, exterior walls ornamented by cornices, and an ornamental crest 
over the center of the roof of the structure. It further illustrates the general 
character of the Mayan masonry wall, with facing, backing, and hearting, and 
also the nature of the sub-structure, which was usuallj' a pyramid of earth 
and stone, with masonry facing. In slide No. 237, the foundation walls are 
shown extending down through this sub-scrueture. No. 254. (From Holmes.) 
A view prepai^ed from a photograph showing the interior of a characteristic 
Mayan vaulted chamber. Notice the horizontal coursed arch, and the openings 
for the wooden poles used during construction ; also the narrow width of the 
chamber, the absence of all window openings, and the stone lintels over the 
wall openings. No. 241. (From Holmes.) Transverse generalized section of 
characteristic Palenque building. Notice the wooden lintels over the openings, 
the provision for attaching hangings at wall openings, the sloping external 
surfaces of the horizontal coursed arch, and the roof crests. Also the trun- 
cated pyramidal sub -structure. No. 269. (From Holmes.) Showing tiat roof 
construction at Mitla. Horizontal wooden or stone beams span the openings, 
on the top of which are placed poles, earth and stone. No. 203. (From Holmes.) 
Showing the use of the column at Mitla, to span a larger opening than is 
possible with a single span. 

93. Ancient Mexican Architecture. Some discussion of the dwellings of 
the ancient Mexicans has already been given. With few exceptions, they 
were one story in height; but a few of the better buildings added one or more 
stories to the first. The dwellings of the common people were made, in some 
instances, of wood, but very generally of adobe, or sun dried brick. The 
dwellings of the nobles and richer people were often of stone. The roofs in 
general were flat, as already described. They did not use doors or windows. 
The openings were stopped with hangings. In some instances, the floors were 
covered by tiles, and in some other cases a sort of concrete floor, with lime- 
stone mortar, was used. In the humbler dwellings, the floors were simply 
beaten earth. 

We must look to the religious and monumental structures of the ancient 
Mexicans for their greatest achievements in architecture. 

Almost without exception in their architectural construction, the real struc- 
ture was elevated on a truncated pyramidal sub-structure, which in some cases 
formed the most important part of the entire construction. Li the vicinity 
of the city of ^Mexico these sub-structures generally consisted of great masses 
of mingled earth and stone. The exteriors, however, were cased witli stone 
masonry, and a number of terraces were provided along the sides. 

In the case of the ancient Mexican pyramids, the successive terraces were 
so arranged that to reach the top, the religious procession passed ai-ound the 
entire structure on each terrace. The real temples, on the top, were very 
.small structures, generally of masonry. In Yucatan, and at Palenque and 
Mitla, the masonry superstructures were of very much greater importance. 
They were erected with great skill, on the principles of masonry construction 
already described. Important sites at which extensive remains of monumental 
masonry structures are still found are Uxmal and Chiehenitza. in northern 
Yueataia, and Palenque to the west of Uxmal, along the foothills of the 
eastern coast of the mainland of jNIexico. Copan, in Honduras, is another 
site of ancient ruins. At the city of Caxaca, about thirty miles north of 
Mitla, there are the remains of very extensive earth constructions by ancient 
Mexicans. ■ 



80 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 281. Panoramic view of pyramids, and 
other remains of prehistoric constructions, at Teotihuacan, about twenty-uve 
miles northeast of the city of Mexico (Holmes). No. 262. Teotihuacan, from 
the Pyramids of the Moon, showing the Pyramid of the Sun (Holmes). No. 
253. Foundations of house, exposed by Charnet's excavations, at Teotihuacan 
(Holmes). The lantern slides named above illustrate prehistoric remains at 
•one of the centers of population near the City of Mexico. The principal 
pyramids are now called the Pyramid of the Sun, and the Pyramid of the 
Moon. The former is approximately 700 feet square at the base, by 180 feet 
high, the summit being about 100 feet square. The Pyramid of the Moon has 
a base about 450 feet north and south, by 500 feet east and west, the summit 
being about 50 by 60 feet. No. 227. Bottom of an ancient reservoir, or 
water supply, in Yucatan. No. 212. Subterranean reservoir, in Yucatan, 
(both from Baldwin's Ancient America), illustrating the difficulties of ob- 
taining water supply in the lime stone region of Yucatan, as already described, 
and the methods employed by the ancient Mexicans to overcome these diffi- 
culties. No. 286. Panoramic view of extensive earth constructions, on slope 
of mountain ridges in Oaxaea. The entire outline of the mountain ridges has 
been changed by these artificial constructions of ancient times. (From Holmes.) 
No. 24. Small ruined temple on Mugeres Island, off the coast of Yucatan. 
(From Holmes.) No. 265. Pyramid Temple at El Meeo, mainland of Yucatan. 
(From Holmes.) No. 263. Showing development of the ground plan of Mayan 
temples, Yucatan, beginning with one room and gradually developing into 
several, with a holy chamber in the interior. (From Holmes.) No. 207. Cir- 
cular edifice at Mayapan. (From Baldwin's Ancient America.) No. 211. 
Ruined arch at Kabah, showing very fine example of horizontal coursed arch. 
(From Boldwin's Ancient America.) No. 260. Showing cord holders for 
hangings, at wall openings. (From Holmes.) No. 261. Showing constniction 
of single doorway, and No. 268, showing construction of triple doorway (both 
from Holmes), illustrating the most highly developed details of temples in 
Yucatan. Nos. 243 and 250. A feathered serpent column, at Chichen-Ltza, 
northeastern Yucatan, (from Holmes), showing the nearest approach to a 
regular order of architecture yet discovered in connection with ancient Mexi- 
can architecture. The column represents a rattle snake. Notice the wooden 
lintels and cornice over the top. No. 287. Middle portion of the "House of 
the Pigeons." (Holmes.) Notice the peculiar raised roof crest ornamentation. 
No. 285. East Facade of one of the structures at Chichen-Itza, northeastern 
Yucatan. (From Holmes.) No. 235. Showing square columns as employed in 
one of the structures, known as The Temple of the Tables, at Chichen-Itza, 
Yucatan. (From Holmes.) The use of columns of any description was exceed- 
ingly rare in ancient Mexican architecture. In all ancient Mexican archi- 
tecture a very extensive use was made of stucco for smoothing up exposed 
masonry surfaces. The exposed surfaces were then painted in vivid colors. 
One of the designs at Mitla is illustrated in lantern slide No. 271, described 
above. These ancient decorations were renewed time after time, and in some 
cases many coats of paint were found. No. 282. Panoramic view of Palenque, 
Mexico, showing architectural remains. The structures appear as they would 
if the vegetation were removed. In the valley shown in the picture, a long 
and very large storm sewer was constructed by the prehistoric engineers, to 
carry away the storm water and protect the foundations of the structures 
shown in the picture. The exact length is not known, but it was at least many 
himdred feet. No. 219. Remains of Teocalli or Temple at Palenque (from 
Encyclopedia Britannica), giving a better idea of actual appearance of the 
ruins, overgrown by luxuriant forest. No. 256. Ground plan of "Palace," at 
Palenque, showing "the complex development of the ground plans of structures. 
(From Holmes.) This slide also shows the approximate location of the storm 
sewer already referred to. No. 236. Showing ground plans of similar struc- 
tures at Palenque, showing gradual development of complexity. A repre- 
sentation of the god, like those already illustrated in connection with Article 
86, was placed in the holiest chamber. (From Holmes.) No. 225. Front cor- 



81 

ridor of Palace at Palenque. (From Stevens.) No. 230. Temple of the Sun, 
Palenque. (From Holmes.) No. 231. View in northwest court of Palace, 
showing decorated piers and tower. Towers were very unusual in IMexican 
architecture. (From Holmes.) No. 259. Panoramic view of the ruins and 
modern village at Mitla, State of Ozxaca, Mexico. (From Holmes.) No. 290. 
Cut from photographic vieAv of one of the masonry structures at ^Mitla. (From 
Holmes.) No. 271. Small sections from painted design, from one of the struc- 
tures at Mitla. (From Holmes.) No. 270 Interior of the Hall of Six Columns 
at Mitla, showing the use of circular stone columns to span a comparatively 
wide opening for the flat roof construction. The use of columns was very 
unusual. (From Holmes.) No. 274. Mitlan women, spinning and weaving, 
showing the continued use of methods of spinning and weaving developed in 
the more advanced savage culture stage already illustrated by a similar view 
of a Zuni Indian at work. No. 201. The Great wall', at Copan, British Hon- 
duras. (From Baldwin's Ancient America.) This wall is 60 to 90 feet high 
and some 625 feet long. Above it were the remains of many masonry struc- 
tures. Copan, however, is especially famous as being the site on which were 
discovered many sculptured stone idols, one of which has already been illus- 
trated in connection with Ai'tiele 86. 

94. Ancient Mexican Cities. It appears that the population of the Valley 
of the Mexico was denser when it was first discovered by the Spaniards than 
now. Hittell states that the ancient cities of ^Mexico and Tezcuco had 300,000 
inhabitants each at the time of the conquest, and that there were many cities 
in the Valley with a population of several thousand each. Prescott states that 
the streets of ancient Mexico were laid out at right angles to each other, and 
that the principal streets radiated out from the great Teocalli temple as a 
center. He states that the streets were mostly narrow, but that the principal 
north and south street was wide and straight, extending through the entire 
city. He also states that the main streets Avere paved with a hard "cement." 
Hittell states that some of the streets were paved with stone. Neither the 
ancient INIexicans nor any other ancient people knew anything about true 
cement. 

The principal streets were intersected by numerous canals, as the city of 
ancient Mexico was built at a very slight elevation above the lake, and over 
these canals were many bridges, usually draw bridges. Prescott states that 
there was a regular street cleaning system, in which one thousand persons 
■were employed daily to sweep and water the streets. One of the Spaniards 
present at the time of the conquest wrote that the streets were kept so clean 
that a man could walk through the city "with as little danger of soiling his 
feet as his hands." 

In the city of ancient Mexico, there were very extensive palaces for the 
mouarcli, and the dwellings of the nobles were also large and costly. These 
and the temples formed the principal architectural constructions. This was 
true both of IMexico, and also of Tezcuco, which was especially noted for the 
palace of its monarch. 

95. Sanitary Engineering Among the Ancient Mexicans. At least the prin- 
cipal ^lexican cities were provided with regular water supplies, brought in 
by aqueducts from a considerable distance. Hittell states that there was a 
double aqueduct for the city of Mexico, the source of supply being at Chapul- 
tepee. He further states that each of the channels was six feet square, but 
this seems to be much larger than the actual fact. Prescott states that the 
water supply was brought by two pipes, each "the size of a man's l)ody." He 
states that the water was carried to the houses by hand from the ])(>ints where 
this aquaduct crossed the canals, using canoes. He states that there Avas a 
large reservoir at Chapultepec. Hittell states that the city of Tezcuco was 
supplied Avith Avater from a reservoir. 

EAvbanks' Hydraulics. 1842. quoting from Ilerara. states that Avhen the 
Spaniards reached Tezcuco the streets Avere very regular, and that fresh Avater 
Avas brought in pipes from the mountains to cA'ery home. Undoubtedly, this 



82 

is an exaggeration, but it is certain that the fountains and baths of the palace 
of the monarch at Tezuco were very famous at the time of the conquest. 
Ewbanks also states that the Tlascalans had baths and fountains. It seems 
certain that in the palaces of the monarchs and of the great nobles, provision 
was commonly made for a regular water supply for baths and fountains. 

In connection Avith sanitary engineering among the ancient Mexicans, we 
must not forget the storm sewer at Palenque, which has already been men- 
tioned in connection with the illustrative lantern slides in Article 893. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 276. Section of waterway arch, Palenque, 
height 10 feet. This storm sewer was several hundred feet in length, but its 
point of beginning is unknown. As shown by the lantern slide, it was con- 
structed on the principle of the horizontal arch. 

96. Irrigation and Hydraulic Engineering in Ancient Mexico. By a num- 
ber of references in Prescott and other authorities, it is evident that irrigation 
was practiced on an extensive scale in ancient Mexico, and throughout the 
country inhabited by the Aztecs, but details are lacking. 

97. Navigation in Ancient Mexico. The ancient Mexicans had no shipping. 
They used canoes, however, extensively in connection with transportation, as 
already mentioned in Article 88. All descriptions of the Spanish conquest 
represent the lakes in the Valley of ]\Iexico as swarming with craft of this 
type. Hittell names boat-builders as belonging to a separate craft. 

98. Land Transportation in Ancient Mexico. 

Foods. Land transportation in ancient Mexico was by human carrier, as 
already stated. Thej^ had no beasts of burden, nor vehicles. They did little 
along the line of road construction, but had regular trails or paths leading to 
all parts of the empire, with station buildings at intervals of about six miles 
for the accommodation of couriers. These couriers carried news and packages, 
and ran at top speed, each one having only a short distance to travel. In this 
way sea fish were carried fresh from the ocean to the table of the monarch. 
Hittell says that the six mile stage was made in a little more than half an 
hour. 

Dil-es. "While the Aztecs did little in tlie matter of road construction, yet 
in the Valley of Mexico they carried out important engineering Avork m the 
construction of dikes, by which land communication across the lakes in the 
valley Avas assured. The largest of these dikes Avas seven miles long by sixty 
feet Avide. It Avas covered for most of the length by stones laid in mortar, and 
was protected at the side by piling. 

Bridge^;. The Aztecs also built numerous small bridges. Most of these 
were doubtless of Avood, but in several instances they Avere constructed of 
stone. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 264. Bridge arch. (From Holmes.) This 
illustrates a masonry bridge crossing a small stream, a short distance below 
Palenque, in southern Mexico. 

CHAPTER IX 

ENGINEERING IN ANCIENT PERU. 

99. Ancient Peruvian Country and Races. The country of ancient Peru ex- 
tended along the coast of Soiith America approximately from latitude 2 de- 
grees north to 37 degrees south. These are the limits given by Prescott.* 
Hittell** gives the length of tlie Peruvian empire as approximately 2000 miles. 
It Avas continually increasing, and the limits gi\'en by Prescott are those at- 
tained just prior to the Spanish conquest. The Avidth of the Empire averaged 
perhaps 200 miles, the eastern boundary l)eing the foot of the eastern flank of 
the Andes mountains. About nine-tenths of the empire Avas Avithin the torrid 
zone, but OAving to the large proi)ortion of mountain territory the climatic con- 
ditions ranged from torrid to arctic. 



83 

In general the coast regions were comparatively arid, requiring irrigation. 
Passing into the interior, the western slopes of the Andes are soon encountered, 
and these mountains rise to regions of perpetual snow. From these mountain 
ranges water supply Avas secured for irrigation purposes. 

The Peruvian capital was Cuzco, on the eastern slope of the Andes, located 
on a tributary of the Amazon Kiver. The climate here was very equable. This 
was also true of the climate of Quito, the second city of the empire, 900 miles 
north, located in degrees 15 minutes, south latitude. Hittell states that the 
variation of average temperature in the extreme months of the year at Quito 
Avas only from 50 degrees in January to 59 degrees in July. 

In considering the topography and climate of ancient Peru, one cannot but 
be striTck by its resemblances to those of other centei"s of ancient civilization, 
as ah'eady described in Article 83. We have the same arid climate, requiring 
irrigation on a large scale, for which an organized government was neeessarj\ 
We also have an equable temperature, favorable to the prosperous develop- 
ment of culture. Further, the interior forests of South America on the east 
and the ocean on the west, constituted almost impassable barriers against 
hostile invasion. 

The ruling Peruvian race was that of the Incas, the members of which were 
supposed to have descended from the original founder of the Peruvian Empire 
The Inca race constituted the hereditary nobility of the Empire. They were 
simply a highly developed American Red Indian race. The common people 
were made up of various conquered tribes, all directly incorporated into the 
Peruvian Empire. At the time of the Spanish conquest there was no division 
into friendly and hostile nations, as in the case of the ancient Mexicans. 

\ Illustrative Lantern SUde. No. 307. Map of Peru at the time of the Spanish 
Conquest. (From Prescott's Conquest of Mexico.) This map shows only the 
portion of the empire north of 20 degrees south latitude. 

100. History of Ancient Peru. The ancient Peruvians did not have any 
system of written records and while they did manage to keep imperfect records 
by means of their quipus, or knotted cords, to be described later, yet in this 
particular they were far behind the ancient Mexicans. Little is known, there- 
fore, of their history prior to the Spanish conquest, except as records of their 
legends were made by the Spaniards at the time. According to such legends, 
the empire had been established about 500 years previous to 1533, the date of 
the conquest, but it seems probable that the Inca race really secured control 
at about 1250 A. D. 

Certain architectural remains at Lake Titieaca, and elsewhere, are supposed 
to have been of still earlier date, and indicate that there was a long perio'' 
of preceding development in tbis region. Lake Titieaca seems to have been 
the ancient center of Peruvian culture. 

The Peruvian Incas continually extended the limits of their empire by con- 
quesli, so that it was growing throughout the entire period of their history. 

101. General Culture Conditions of the Ancient Peruvians. 

Military. There was a regular military organization, and all uudo sub.iects 
of suitable age were expected to do military service. They were given regular 
drills and were systematically organized. It is stated that there were 200,000 
men in the army. 

Politrj. The Peruvians had a most extraordinary system of polity, in which 
the government was everything. At the head was the Inca himself, who was 
supposed to be divine, so that he centered in himself both the govenunent 
and religion. The mem1)ers of the Inca race were all supposed to be directly 
descended from the original Inca, and constituted an hereditary nobility, scat- 
tered throughout the empire, and in direct touch with the Inca himself. The 
people were organized in squads of ten families, each under a regular officer, 
ten of these groups under a higher olificer, etc.. so that the government had 
absolute control over all its sub.iects. 

The govei-nment prt-scribed by law the exact occupations of all its subjects, 
provided against poverty and famine, and even interfered in their domestic 



84 

relations. There is no other known example of such absolute governmental 
control of all private and public affairs as seems to have existed in ancient 
Peru. 

Religion was Polytheistic, and the gods of all conquered tribes were 
adopted among these of the Empire. The chief object of worship was the 
sun. There was little human sacrifice. There was a numerous priestly body. 
All of the priests were nobles. There were numerous temples. Morality had 
a very prominent place in Peruvian religion. Common salutations were such 
as "Revere the truth," "Be industrious." 

Social conditions were greatly affected by the absolute governmental con- 
trol already spoken of. Marriage, for example, was compulsory, at fixed 
ages. The country was divided into communes, and the tillable soil was 
separated into three parts, devoted respectively to the church, the state and 
the people. The people, of course, tilled all three, but no person could acquire 
title to any tract of land. The government collected all surplus products, and 
put them into warehouses, for its own use, and to provide against famine. 
It prescribed the exact occupation of every person. 

Art. The art of the ancient Peruvian was more crude than that of the 
Mexican. 

Education. There was a provision for education somewhat similar to that 
of the Mexicans. All the Inea males were sent to schools in the temples. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 305. Head of Tiaguanaco. (From Luf kin's 
History of Art.) This represents the head of a god, being 3 feet 6 inches in 
height, and 2 feet 7 inches in width. The whole statue was about 18 feet 
high. 

102. Ancient Peruvian Science, Mathematics, etc. It has already been 
stated that the Peruvians had no system of writing. They kept records, how- 
ever, by means of quipvs, or cords ; which, by means of different knots, colors, 
and modes of combination, served to keep record of population, fields, 
products, llamas, etc., in every commune, department, and province. By this 
same means they also kept records of laws, history, and religious legends and 
ceremonies. The knots, colors and combinations served as aids to the memory 
and stood for different objects and ideas ; just as do hieroglyphic signs, and 
letters of the alphabet, in system of written records. 

The Quipus, of course, furnished a system which was very much inferior 
to writing, but more could be and was accomplished with it than would seem 
possible to \is of the present day. 

The ancient Peruvians were little advanced along lines of astronomy and 
mathematics. Their calendar year was 365 days long, divided into twelve 
months, with some surplus intercalary days. They had vertical columns to 
enable them to ascertain the solstices and equinoxes, by observations of the 
shadows cast by the sun. 

103. Ancient Peruvian Commerce and Industries. 

Commerce. The ancient Peruvian commerce was, of course, greatly limited 
by the absolute governmental control of all industries and manufactures. 
Surplus products, as already stated, were collected into warehouses and dis- 
tributed to the people as necessity indicated. All portions needed in other 
districts were transported thither under governmental control. There must 
have been, however, considerable commerce with surroimding peoples. In 
Prescott's "Conquest of IMexico, " he states that one of the first instances of 
contact between Spaniards and Peruvians was an encounter at sea between 
a Spanish ship and a Peruvian trading craft, Avhich was pursuing a trading 
voyage along the coast. 

Agriculture. The Peruvians were especially skilled in agriculture. They 
conducted irrigation on a very extensive scale, as will be described farther 
ou. They ciiltivated the soil by means of sharp sticks jiressed into the ground 
and dragged along by eight or ten men. They also had hoes and spades of 
wood or bronze. They used fertilizers, and among the crops they cultivated 
were maize, plantains, cotton, tobacco, agave, and bamboo. Their domestic 



85 

animals included the dog, goose, an animal similar to the guinea pig, and the 
llama. In the domestication of the latter they were much in advance of the 
ancient Mexicans. 

Crafts. The different mechanical industries were carried on by crafts, as 
generally in the barbaric culture stage. The Peruvians were especially skilled 
in the weaving and dying of fine cloths. For this purpose they had not only 
maguey fiber and cotton, but also the fleece of the llama, so that they were 
able to make woolen cloth. They had much skill in jewelry, pottery, metal 
working, etc. They used scales in weighing metals and other substances. 

Manufactures. The nature of the manufactures of the ancient Peruvians- 
has already been indicated in the discussion of crafts given above. The 
manufactures included cloth, gold, silver, copper and bronze articles, and 
many other articles similar to those enumerated in connection with ancient 
Mexico. 

Porphyry, Granite, Marble, and Jasper were made into cups, bowls, vases, 
etc. Emerald and turquois Avere cut and polished by their jewellers. 

niustrative Lantern Slides. No. 309. Articles of pottery. (From Baldwin's 
Ancient America.) This gives some idea of the character of ornamentation 
of the articles. Xo. 308. A gold and a silver vase, showing the nature of 
ancient Peruvian work. (From Baldwin's Ancient America.) No. 332. Pre- 
Inca pottery, showing Avork of a race preceding the Incas. No. 316. A native 
weaver. (The above two from Wright's Peru.) 

104. Ancient Peruvian Tools and Mechanical Deivdces. Like the ancient 
Mexicans, the ancient Periiviaus were familiar with bronze, but had not come 
to use it very extensively. Hittell states that they used 2 to 10 per cent of 
tin in their bronze alloys of copper; also, that they hardened copper Avith 
silica. Their main material for cutting implements, however, Avas stone, and 
they made extensive use of bone and woods, as did the ancient Mexicans. 

105. Ancient Peruvian Mining and Metallurgy. The ancient Peruvians, 
according to Hittell, mined and smelted gold, silver, copper and tin, ex- 
tensiA'ely. He also states that they used cinnabar as a pigment, and that they 
sublimated it for its mercury. Gold Avas AA^ashed from alluvial deposits, and 
silver smelted from the vein stone. According to Prescott, they did not sink 
shafts but they dug into the side of tbe mountains. 

In their metallurgical operations they smelted the various ores by furnaces, 
built on elevated and exposed places to get a good draft. The same plan has 
been folloAved by other nations, doAvn to Avithin a comparatively recent time. 
Hittell states that they used furnaces of patterns still employed in Peru and 
Bolivia, and that they also kneAV the value of various minerals as fluxes to 
aid in the fusion of ores. Their metal Avorkers manufactured hollow AA-are, 
figures and tools, by forging and by casting. In the gardens surrounding 
PeruA'ian temples the Spaniards found plants and figures of animals made of 
gold and silver. Hittell states that their patterns for casting Avere made of 
wax, and that the molds Avere made of clay. Besides bronze alloys of copper 
and tin, they also alloyed copper Avith gold and silver. 

106. Ancient Peruvian Ceramics. The ancient Peruvians Avei-e skilled in 
the manufacture of articles of pottery. 

There is much dispute as to the character of the mortar Avhich they made 
and used in masonry. Squier, Avho has made a careful personal study of 
their masonry, concluded that they did not use any mortar, but simi)l\- relied 
upon accurate fitting of the different pieces of stone. Other aiitiiorities, on 
the other hand, seem unanimous in the idea that they did use mortar. Hittell 
states that Humboldt found lime mortar in Equador. Others state that they 
used mortar looking like clay, but hard as stone. Prescott, on the authority 
of contemporaneous reports by the Spaniards, states that they used a mortar 
of clay mixed Avith lime, and also that in the finer joints they used a fine 
bituminous glue for mortar, but this last does not seem to be upheld by others. 



86 

Peruvian Adobe. Whatever the uncertainty as to the exact nature of Peru- 
vian mortar, their skill in the use of adobe is beyond dispute. Adobe is 
simply sun dried brick, such as has been used by many different barbaric 
nations, and by savages in the higher culture stage. Adobes are made by 
kneading clay with water, sometimes with fibrous materials added to give 
them greater strength. Reference in the Bible to this practice of the Egyptians 
will occur to all. 

After made, the adobe brick are set to dry, and turned after a proper 
interval to insure uniform drying of all sides. In general adobe is not suited 
to any climate where there is much rainfall, and walls made of it crumble 
after comparatively short periods of time, bixt in the case of Peru adobe 
structures still exist after nearly 400 years' exposure to the elements, even 
in some localities where there is a heavy rainfall. 

The Peruvians are credited with having made the best adobe ever manu- 
factured by any nation. Many surmise that they used some special material, 
or had some special process, the secret of which is now lost. Hittell states 
that in other countries with twenty inches of rainfall annually, adobe walls, 
if left uncovered, sink down within a few years into mere heaps of earth, but 
that in Peruvian districts where rain sometimes comes in torrents, adobe walls 
more than thirty feet high have stood for more than four centuries without 
a roof, and so perfectly that they have preserved their sharp corners and 
decorations. He further states that in some eases a material similar to that 
in the adobes was built into walls of monolithic character, instead of being 
manufactured into blocks. 

107. Ancient Peruvian Masonry. The dispute as to the character of the 
mortar used in ancient Peruvian masonry has already been mentioned in 
Article 106. The Peruvians used both cut and uncut stone masonry. In some 
of their structures, the individual stones were very large. For example, in 
the fortress of Cuzeo, in whose construction 20,000 men are reported to have 
been engaged for fifty years, one stone has been measured whose dimensions 
were 27 ft. x 14 ft. x 12 ft., and Hittell states that in another instance a single 
stone weighs 360 tons. He also states that stones 15 ft. x 12 ft. x 10 ft. ar«» 
numerous in this structure. They would probably weigh 150 tons each. Such 
blocks of stone were transported long distances by the combined efforts of 
many men. In the best Peruvian cut stone masonry the stone fitted so closely 
that there is not any mortar which can be noticed and in most places not 
sufficient room to introduce a thin knife blade. Squier states that in no other 
part of the world had he seen "stones cut with such mathematical precision 
and with such admirable skill." 

Porphyry, basalt, and granite were used in the principal architectural work, 
and are said by Hittell to have been very hard. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 311. General view of the remains of the 
fortress walls at Cuzco. No. 312. Close view of the fortress walls at Cuzco., 
showing character of the masonry. (Both the above from Baldwin's Ancient 
America.) These illustrations show the comparatively crude and very massive 
character of the masonry. No. 310. Cyclopean wall at Chanchan. (Encyclo- 
pedia Britannica.) No. 38. "Wall of Inca Palace, Cuzeo. No. 330. Ruins at 
OUantaytambo ; and Nos. 329 and 331, the 12 angle stone, at Cuzco. (All 
three from Wright's Peru.) Showing character of the Peruvian masonry. 

108. Ancient Peruvian Architeicture. The ancient Peruvian architecture 
was comparatively crude. The structures were strong, massive, and durable, 
but did not show a high degree of artistic skill in their design. 

There were many architectural structures, some of them of great magnitude. 
The fortress of Cuzco was an elevation above the city, and showed a very 
high degree of military skill in its design as a fortification. The great temple 
of the Sun, at Cizeo, was another of the important Peruvian architectural 
structures. It was 300 feet by 200 feet, and was especially noted for its lavish 
ornamentation with gold. A thick sheet, six inches wide, ran around the out- 
side as a frieze, with a similar decoration in every apartment In the room 



87 

of the sun a large plate of gold, shaped and engraved to represent that 
luminary, and decorated with precious stones, was so placed on the wall that 
at a eei^ain day the rising sun would strike direetlj- upon it through a large 
open doorway. Attached to this temple were large gardens, containing orna- 
mental plants and animals made of gold and silver. 

Nevertheless, as has already been stated, in general design, Peruvian archi- 
tecture was crude and practically all of one type. The structures were low, 
and the walls very massive. The rooms did not communicate with each 
other, but opened upon a court. The Avail openings were often narrower at 
the top than at the bottom. The roofs were generally of wood or straw, but 
a few had bell shaped coverings of a composition of earth and pebbles. There 
was comparatively little cut stone ornamentation in Peruvian architectural 
structures. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 301. Ruins on Titicaca Island, supposed 
to be the most ancient ruins found in Peru. Lake Titicaca is admitted to 
be the center of their most ancient culture. No. 303. Ruins at Pachacmac. 
Pachacmae, about twenty-five miles south of Lima, was one of the religious 
centers of ancient Peru and the great extent of these ruins gives an idea of 
the vast amount of architectural construction throughout the Peruvian Em- 
pire. (Both from BaldAvin's Ancient America.) No. 327. The southwest part 
of Pachacmac. from the north. No. 328. Entrance to principal palace at 
Pachacamac. (The above two from Wri.o'ht's Peru. No. 304. Edifice with 
gateway, at old Huanaco. This shows the common Peruvian practice of mak- 
ing the dooi'ways narrower at the top than at the bottom. Peruvian archi- 
tecture was crude and Avith little ornamentation. No. 302. End view of the 
walls at Grand Chimu. Detail of architectural decorations at Chimu-Chaueho. 
(The above two from Baldwin's Ancient America.) No. 313. Square Cbnlpa, 
or burial tower, in Peru, illustrating tower construction on a small scale by 
the ancient Peruvians, most of whose architecture was I'estricted to build- 
ings of one story. No. 317. Facade of palace at Chanchan. Walls 20-30 feet 
high. View shows decoration by carvings of animals. (The above two from 
the Encyclopedia Britannica.) No. 315. Niche in facade of Palace of Manco- 
Ccapac' No. 319. Ruin of Temple of the Inca Yiracocha. near Cuzco. 
No. 320. Ruins of an Incas Palace. No. 321. Entrance to an Incaic house, 
Cuzco. The above five are from Wright's Peru, and illustrate details of 
Peruvian architecture. 

109. Ancient Peruvian Cities. In the ancient Peruvian cities, as in the 
case of ancient :Mexican cities, the houses of the common people were of 
one story and with thatched roofs. The better houses were of stone, and 
only one story high. They had no windows but had doorways in the gables 
with an external ladder or stairway to tlie attic. A few liuildiugs had two 
stories. In the two story buildings the entrances to the second story and 
attic were on the outside. There were no chimneys. The doorways were 
closed with curtains. 

The streets Avere narroAV and long. 

The principal cities Avere Cuzco, the capital, and Quito, in tlu> northern 
part of the empire, both large and populous. In the description of Cuzco 
given in Prescott's Conquest of Pern, he states that the streets Avere gen- 
erallv straight and at right angles Avith each other Avith four principal streets 
radiating from the public square. He further states that there Avere several 
public squares, corresponding to small modern parks, but used for religious 
ceremonies. The main public square and many other parts of the city Avere 
paved Avith fine pebbles. Throughout the heart of the cai>ital ran a river of 
pure Avater, the banks and sides of Avhich, for a distance of ''twenty leagues," 
were faced AA-ith stone. Across this river were many bridges, constructed of 
broad flat stones. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 323. Ruins of the eastern street at 
Pachacamac. No. 324. An Incaic street, Cizeo. (Both from Wright's Peru.) 
ShoAving narroAv streets lined Avith masonry Avails of dAvellings. 



88 

110. Sanitary Engineering in Ancient Peru. The same channels used for 
irrigation purposes and to be described below, also supplied water for drink- 
ing. Hittell states that golden pipes were used to bring water to the^Temple 
of the Sun at Cizco. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 325. An Inca fountain, Cuzco. (Prom 
"Wright's Peru.) 

111. Ancient Peruvian Irrigation. The ancient Peruvians conducted very 
extensive irrigation operations. The conditions for irrigation were favor- 
able, since the higher portions of the Andes supplied water in exhaustible 
quantities for irrigation during the summer months through the melting of 
ice and snow, with plenty of fall to bring it down to the arid lands. 

The Peruvians constructed their irrigation works on a very large scale. 
Great reservoirs Avere made in the mountains, and the water was led to the 
fields in artificial channels, often 40 or 50 miles long. In places these were 
cut or tunneled through hills, or cut into the side of steep cliffs. They were 
lined with stone, in loose soils, to prevent seepage, and were sometimes cov- 
ered to prevent evaporation. They were sometimes supported on great em- 
bankments where they were taken across ravines. 

In other cases, as stated by Hittell, the Peruvians made use of the principle 
of the inverted siphon for crossing ravines. 

It is stated that some of these ancient channels are still in good order, and 
continue to furnish water, though the sources from which it comes are now 
unknown. 

Prescott states that, in the district of Condesuyu, one of their ancient ac- 
queducts was between 400 and 500 miles long. He states that these acque- 
ducts were brought from some elevated lake, or natural reservoir, in the 
heart of the mountains, and that they were fed by other basins which lay in 
their route, and that often rivers and marshes were crossed on the way. 

Near Caxamarca, a channel is still visible which they excavated in the 
mountains to give an outlet to the waters of a lake which rose in such a 
height in the rainy season as to threaten to inundate the surrounding coun- 
try. Prescott further states that, in the valley of the Nasca, "ancient 
water courses of the Incas, measuring four or five feet in depth by three feet 
in width, and constructed with large blocks of masonry, are conducted from 
an unknown distance." He further states that the quantity of water from 
these irrigation channels to be used by each occupant of the land was care- 
fully prescribed by law, and that its distribution was superintended by royal 
overseers. 

The Peruvians also expended a great deal of labor in terracing the sides 
of the hills and mountains, where these were too precipitous to be tilled. 
They faced their terraces with stone walls, and in some cases even cut into 
the solid rock, bringing in earth to form an artificial soil. Similar terracing 
of the mountain sides can be seen at the present day in the mountains of the 
Philippine Islands in connection with irrigation. 

In other cases where the surface soil was arid, but where there was an inex- 
haustible supply of ground water at a greater depth, the ancient Peruvians 
dug out the soil from considerable areas, sometimes to a depth of fifteen or 
twenty feet, facing the excavated area with heavy Avails of stone. The bottom 
of the excavation was then cultivated. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 326, Andenes, or artificial terraces. From 
Wright's Peru. 

112. Ancient Peruvian Navigation. Hittell states that, having no suit- 
able trees near navigable water, the ancient Peruvians built no boats ; but that 
they made rafts of logs, Avhich were often rendered more buoyant by the 
use of skins. He also states that they used both paddles and sails for pro- 
pelling such rafts, and that they were used for the transportation of guano 
from the inlands of the mainland. One of the early incidents mentioned 



89 

in trescott's Conquest of Peru is the meeting between one of the first Span- 
ish ships to reach Peruvian waters and a raft of this character at sea. Such 
rafts were known as "balsas," and Prescott says that they are still the 
most commodious means of transportation of passengers and luggage on the 
streams and along the shore of this part of South America. 

For this purpose they are supplied ^vith huts and cabins. The description 
of the one first encountered by the Spaniards states that it was made of 
large logs of a porous light wood, tightly lashed together, with a deck of 
reeds. Iwo masts in the middle sustained a large square sail of cotton. The 
craft was steered by a rude rudder and a movable keel of plank was inserted 
between the logs. Prescott states that at a distance this raft with its large 
sail looked like a caravel to the Spaniards who first saw it. The Spaniards 
found upon it a party of Indians engaged in trading along the coast. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 334, a loaded Balsa-Parta. No. 333, Llamas 
embarking on a Balsa at Puno, Lake Titieaca. Both from Wright's Peru. 

113. Land Transportation in Ancient Peru. In methods of land transpor- 
tation, the ancient Peruvians were in advance of the Mexicans, in that they 
built regular roads, and employed animal power for the transportation of 
freight. 

The Llama. The burden bearing animal of the ancient Peruvians was the 
llama, which also furnished them with wool. Great flocks of these animals 
were kept pastured in the higher mountain regions, and were carefully pro- 
tected by law. 

In the transportation of freight, each animal, according to Prescott, car- 
ried a load of a little over 100 pounds, but the llamas move in droves of 500, 
or even 1000 so that the aggregate burden carried is large. The whole 
caravan moved only about three or four leagues per day, and each animal 
picked up an easy subsistence from the loose herbage upon the sides of the 
mountains. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 335, Llamas carrying burdens. From 
"Wright's Peru. 

Peruvian Roads. Ancient Peruvian engineering is especially notable as 
to the magnitude of their work in road building. They had a series of roads 
connecting all the principal cities in the Empire; and including, especially, 
two great main roads, parallel with the coast line, each of which was about 
2000 miles long. Humboldt thinks these roads are "among the most useful 
and gigantic works of human enterprise." 

They are stated to have been twelve to fifteen feet wide, with a paving of 
flat stones, or small stones laid in a "cement," so hard that it stands as a 
bridge after the soil beneath has been washed away in some places. (No 
true cement was known to the Peruvians.) As there were no vehicles, steep 
grades and even steps in the roads were not ob,iectionable. 

One of the great roads followed close to the coast line, and the other par- 
allel to it, far up in the Andes. On this latter road, especially, tunnels, 
bridges, embankments and cuts into the steep cliffs were numerous. Hittell 
mentions one case where a bridge was approached on one side by a tunnel 
several hundred yards long. 

At intrevals of four or five miles on the main traveled roads, huts were 
provided for the accomodation of relays of runners, and about every eleven 
miles larger houses for the accomodation of high oflficials. The ancient Peru- 
vians maintained a regular system of carriers by which messages and small 
packages were carried with great rapidity from one portion of the empire 
to another. In this partieuhir. both the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians were 
in advance of contemporary nations of Europe. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 336. East slope of Conlilera's at C'han- 
charnayo. No. 337. Curve of San Bartolome, Orayo Railway. Roth from 
"Wright's Peru. Showing stupendous difficulties to be overcome in road 
building in the Andes. 



90 

Bridges. The ancient Peruvian bridges which crossed rivers and motin- 
tain gorges, were made on the suspension principle. Cables of twisted osiers, 
or in some cases of maguey fibres, Avere constructed to swing across the 
chasm or river to be bridged with osier cables ^10 feet long by ten inches in 
diameter. This bridge spanned the Opuremac river at a height of 100 feet, 
with a clear span of 108 feet. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 514-515-516. Three views of a native sus- 
pensiojj bridge in the Himalaya mountains, illustrating the general character 
of such suspension bridges as were built by the ancient Peruvians and de- 
scribed above. These views are from Harper's Magazine, ]March 1, 1906. No.. 
3?8. Ancient suspension bridge, on road from Huan Cayo to Cometo. From 
Wright's Peru, showing later adaptation of the primitive suspension bridge.. 

CHAPTER X. 
CHINESE .ENGmEEEING. 

114. China and the Chinese. The empire of China embraces an area ap- 
proximately four million square miles, which is greater than the total area 
of the United States, including Alaska. In this total, however, are included 
a number of outlying provinces and depemdemcies, such as Manchuria, Mon- 
golia and Tibet, whose connection with the central government is not very 
close. The population of China is roughly estimated at 400,000,000. The 
empire proper is 1,500,000 square miles in area, this being equal, approxi- 
mately, to the area of the United Strates east of Colorado. This empire 
proper is divided into eighteen provinces, ranging in area from 35,000 to 
170.000 square miles each. Each province corresponds, therefore to an 
American state, since Indiana has an area of 35,700 square miles, and Cali- 
fornia, 156,000. The empire proper includes the valleys of two great rivers, 
namely, the Hoangho or Yellow River, in the north and the Yangtze in the 
south. Still farther south is another river valley of considerable size, that 
of the Takiang. These fertile river valleys contain, according to Hittell, 
approximately one million square miles of fertile, cultivated land, which 
Hittell states is greater than the total cultivated area of Europe. Defended 
on the east by a long range of coast, with many harbors, and on all other 
sides by mountain ranges, and deserts, the empire of China was a very favor- 
able country for the early development of an advanced culture. 

The Chinese race originally entered this territory from the northwest. 
Its birth place is thought by some good authorities to have been in West- 
ern Asia, probably south of the Caspian Sea. Entering from the northwest 
the Chinese people gradually advanced southeast along the valley of the 
Yellow River, and to the south until the entire present area of China proper 
came under their dominion. The race has continued practically unchanged 
until the present time. Although foreign dynasties have twice been imposed 
upon the empire as the result of successful invasion, the eonquerers in each 
ease adopted the language and customs of the Chinese. We have no other 
instance of an existing nation where a single race and culture have been 
so long in continuous occupation and dominion of a country. 

115. Chinese History. The date at Avhich the Chinese race first entered 
China from the northwest is not certain. Chinese historians attribute fabu- 
lous antiquity to their earliest civilization. Most authorities assign a date 
between 2300 to 2400 B. C. to the reign of their earliest authentic monarch, 
though others give a date betAveen 2800 and 2900 B. C. 

The country takes its name from the dynasty of Tsin, Avho imited the 
various peoples of the empire proper under one sway betAveen 200 and 300 
B. C. Tsin also began the great system of Chinese canals, and started the 
Great Wall. 

Confucius, the great Chinese religious teacher, lived 551 to 475 B. C. 

The Chinese alphabet is of A^erA' ancient origin, some traditions assigning 
a date as early as 2800 B. C. " 



91 

The practice of requiring examinations as a pre-requisite for admission 
to office lias prevailed since about 1200 B. C. The present system of exami- 
nations goes back to about 700 A. D. 

The Grand Canal of China was in process of construction from about 200 
A. D. to 1289 A. D. 

Parsons states that the Tang Dynasty, 618 to 908 A. D. marks perhaps the 
zenith of Chinese development. He claims that at that time Chinese culture 
was in advance of that in Western Europe. 

Christianity was introduced into China by the Nestorian Monks at about 
500 A. D., and then died out about 845 A. D. 

In 1213 occurred the first foreign conquest of the country, by the Mongols, 
under Genghis Khan. 

Christianity was re-introduced in 1682, by the Jesuits, aftsr a previous 
effort 250 years earlier. 

The first foreign settlement in China was made at Macao, in 1557, by the 
Portugese. 

The second foreign conquest of the countrj^ was by the Manchus, in 1644, 
and the dynasty then imposed has continued until the present time. The 
Manchus imposed the queue upon the Chinese, as a token of subjugation. 

116. Chinese Cultiire. The Chinese are ranked among the barbarian na- 
tions, and in these lectures no attention will be given to many recent signs 
of awakening to western civilization. 

Their culture is most remarkable for its unchangable character. Hittell 
states that there has been less change in Chinese culture in 4000 years than 
has occiu-ed in 1000 in any other nation. 

As illustrating Chinese blind respect for precedent, Parsons gives a view 
of a bridge on a certain road, which is maintained over level dry ground 
without any apparent present reason for its existence. At some very remote 
period in the past a stream crossed the road at this point and the bridge 
which was necessary then has been retained ever since. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 860. Bridge over dry ground (From Par- 
sons' An American Engineer in China, Page 107). 

The government of China is nominally a despotism, but. in fact, there is 
an unwritten constitution, based upon precedent, which the emperor would 
not dare to disobey. The central authority is administered through two coun- 
cils, under whom are seven boards. Each of the eighteen provinces has a 
governor, and groups of provinces, of two or more are under viceroys who 
maintain separate armies, and in many respects are practically independent 
of the central authority. 

Chinese culture differs from all other in the prominent importance given 
to ed\icational gualifi cat ions. There is a regular system of examinations, 
of different grades : and the annual number of competitors in the lowest 
class is stated by Hittell to be two million. He also states that this is a 
larger per cent of the total population than the college students of Europe. 
Admission to high office in the Chinese Government is absolutely dependent 
upon success in the competitive examinations. To such an extent has this 
been carried, that the government is extremely democratic, because admis- 
sion to the competitive examinations is open to all classes, except these des- 
ignated as "dishonorables." There is no hereditary nobility except about 
40.000 supposed direct decendants of Confucius. 

The population is so crowded that a great majority of the people are 
very poor. 

Chinese art is crude and fantastic. This applies to sculpture, painting, 
music and architecture. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 859. Carved animals lining the road to 
the Ming Tombs. (From Parsons.) 

There are three principal Chinese Religions. Confveiani.'ini. Taoi.^>n. and 
Buddhism. The latter was introduced from India, and its origin will he dis- 
cussed in the next chapter. 



92 

Confucianism may be said to be the characteristic Chinese religion, since 
its author, Confucius, was a native of the country. Confucious, however, 
did not claim divine authority or inspiration. He compiled the records and 
traditions of the past, and did much thinking and writing on philosophical 
and moral lines. 

Ancestor worship is a very prominent feature of Chinese religion. 

117. Chinese Science and Mathematics. The Chinese alphabet, as has 
already been stated, is of very ancient origin. It has remained practically 
unchanged for thousands of years, and is exceedingly difficult to learn and 
use. Conventionalized hieroglyphics are used, each standing for a word or 
an idea, so that there are about 24,000 different hieroglyphics, and to learn 
them all would require a large portion of a man's life . A couple of thousand 
suffices for ordinary use. There are six different systems of writing. 

Illustrative Lantern Slide. No. 841. Showing the same sentence written 
according to the six different systems. (From China and the Chinese, by 
Nevins). 

The Chinese read in vertiele lines from the top to the bottom, and from 
right to left, with their titles at what is to us the end of the book, and their 
foot notes at the top of the page. 

In Matlietnatics and astronomy, the Chinese have not attained to eminence. 
Hittell states that they do not use Hindu numerals in their mercantile houses, 
but depend tipon the abacus, or counting board, for making their compu- 
tations. Their astronomical observations go back to a remote age. The no- 
tions of the Chinese concerning physical science are of the crudest and most 
fantastic nature. 

118. Chinese Industries and Commerce. Chinese industries have been 
carried on in much the same manner as in other barbaric nations, by many 
separate crafts. The Chinese are especially noteworthy for having organ- 
ized the first rude idea of so many great industrial inventions. According 
to Hittell (Mankind in Ancient Times. Vol. 2. 

They practiced silk weaving and distillation 2700 years before these arts: 
were known in Europe. 

They coined bronze as early as 1100 B. C. 

They made sugar before 600 B. C. 

They had canals exclusively for navigation, the magnetic needle, piscicul- 
ture, artesian wells, natural gas fuel, petroleum lamps, paper and lacquer 
ware, 100 B. C. 

They had explosive powder, cannon, porcelain, tea as a common bev- 
erage, and spectacles, 600 A. D. 

They had invented movable type, cards and paper money, and had discov- 
ered inoculation for small pox, 1150 A. D. 

The Chinese may have invented the spinning wheel, water wheel, and ciil- 
tivation of rice and sweet potatoes. 

Prior to 1150 A. D., they had made some important industrial invention 
or discovery for every century, during a period of 2000 years; bxit since then 
none. 

Although Chinese indtistry is remarkable for having originated the idea 
of so many great inventions and discoveries, it perhaps is even more remark- 
able for the incompleteness of these same industrial achievements. For ex- 
ample, they had canals for navigation without locks: gun powder without 
giuis; the magnetic needle Avithout compass pivot; printing without pinnting 
presses; type without a foundry; paper without a paper mill. The Avestern 
civilized nations developed these great inventions to the widest usefulness 
within a very short time after first diseoverine the germ ideas. 

In several lines of industry, hoAvever, China has been in advance of Avest- 
ern civilization. They long held the lead in manufactures of silk and porce- 
lain, for example. 

In agriculture, OAving to very dense population, the Chinese haA^e made the 
best use in their poAver of all land fit for tilling. Practically all of such land 



93 

is made to produce food for man. It is stated that they have practically 
no pastures, and they have terraced the hills in many places in a manner 
similar to that already described for Peru. Much of the land is irrigated 
by water raised by hand power. 

In fact, hand power is most extensively used by the Chinese in cultivation, 
land transportation, and other industries. 

The Chinese have had a very extensive commerce from a very early date. 
The internal commerce has largely been carried on by the aid of the great 
waterways of the country which have been supplanted by an extensive sys- 
tem of canals from a remote period. From time immemorial there has also 
been a very large coast wide trade. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides, No.839. An ancient Chinese coin, about 9 A. 
D. (From China and the Chinese by Nevins). No. 812, Chinese sawj'ers at 

work making boards. (From Chinese Characteristics by . No. 858. 

A Chinese saw mill. (From Parsons). 

119. .Chinese Tools and Mechanical Devices. Very little will be said upon 
this subject. The early material for their tools and mechanical devices was 
bronze, but since a remote date this has been supplemented by iron. By far 
the greater part of their tools and mechanical devices are for hand use, and 
of very simple nature. 

120. Chinese Mining and Metallurgy, China is stated to be very rich 
in mineral deposits but these have been little worked as yet. In addition 
to the usual barbaric mining and metallurgy of gold, silver, copper, and tin, 
and similar operations for iron, the Chinese have regularly mined and used 
coal for fuel from a remote period. This is illustrated by the following 
quotation from Marco Polo's account of his travels in China, about 1280 
to 1290 A. D. In speaking of the province of Cathay, in northern China, 
he says: "Throughout this province there is found a sort of black stone, 
which they dig out of the mountains, where it runs in veins. "When lighted, 
it burns like charcoal, and retains the fire much better than wood, in so much 
that it may be preserved during the night, and in the morning be found still 
burning. These stones do not flame, except a little when first liglited. but 
during their ignition give out a considerable heat. It is true there is no 
scarcity of wood in the coutnry, but the multitude of inhabitants is so im- 
mense, and their stoves and bakeries which they are continually heating so 
numerous, that the quantity could not supply the demand — and the stock 
of wood must soon prove inadequate for such consumption, whereas these 
stones may be had in greatest abundance, and at a cheap rate." It appears 
then, that the Chinese were making extensive common use of coal for fuel 
in the 13th century, at a period when western Europe did notliing of the 
kind. 

121. Chinese Ceramics. The statement has already been made tliat China 
was for a long time preeminent in the manufacture of porcelain, ^liss Young, 
in her book on "The Ceramic Art," states that there is a Chinese legend to 
the effect that pottery was invented by Hwang-ti about 2700 B. C, and that 
the beginning of its manufacture may reasonably be fixed at about that time. 
Porcelain, according to some authorities, was invented between 185 B. C. and 
88 A. D., in the Province of Hunan. "Crackelware" has been made in China 
at least since the Tong Dynasty, 960 to 1275 A. D., and probably much earlier. 

Marco Polo, in his book written in the l^tli century, described the Chinese 
porcelain industry at a certain city in China, and stated tliat each workman 
collected the clay and stored it for the use of his children and grandchildren. 
They mined it and left it exposed in heaps for thirty or forty years to the 
action of the sun. wind and rain to refine it. 

The Chinese have made extensive use of enameled brick, and porcelain tile, 
of many colors, in connection with their architecture. Perhai)s the most 
famous example is the porcelain tower of ^Manking, for descrijition of which 
see Article 123. 



94 

122. Chinese Masonry. Chinese masonry has been built from time im- 
memorial, of both sun dried and burned brick, and of stone. 

The greatest single example of Chinese masonry is, of course, the Great Wall 
of China. This was constructed in the 3rd century B. C, as a defense against 
invasion by hostile tribes and nations from the north. Its eastern end is at 
the sea coast, on the Gulf of Liaotung, about 150 miles east and northeast 
of Pekin. The great wall crosses the Yellow river twice in its course and 
ends aboiit 850 miles due west of Pekin. In Cram's atlas, the total length 
of its main portion scales about 1250 miles. There are two sections where 
the wall is double, with large areas enclosed between the two walls. One of 
these would add about 300 miles, and the other about 200 miles to the total 
length, which therefore would scale upon the map approximately 1750 miles. 
Various authorities, however, give the total length at 1500 miles, while others 
say 1250 miles. Hittell states that the wall is from fifteen to thirty feet high, 
the sides being built of stone and the inner mass of earth. He also states that 
towers forty feet high were placed approximately 300 feet apart. Gwilt, in 
his Encyclopedia of Architecture, gives the height as twenty feet, and the 
thickness at the base as twenty-five feet, diminishing to fifteen feet at the 
top. There is a parapet wall four or five feet high, on each side at the top. 
According to some authorities the wall was made of brick in some localities. 
Barnes states that it was built by the Emperor Hwang-ti. Parsons says that 
it was started by Tsin. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 826. The great wall of China at a precipice. 
No. 827. General view of the great wall of China. No. 814. A top view of 
the great wall of China. (Prom Chinese Characteristics.) No. 805. Pictorial 
view and 806 top view of the great wall. (From The Strand Magazine, 
August, 1906.) 

123. Chinese Architecture. It has already been stated that Chinese art is 
not usually admitted to be of a very high type. Chinese architectural con- 
structions are fantastic rather than beautiful. "The Chinese have never had 
a great architect, nor have they ever built a great palace, temple, castle, 
bridge, or tomb. There is a Chinese style of architecture, but it is curious 
rather than artistic, and finds its highest expression in the pagodas, which 
are ecclesiastical structures, and yet are useless for public worship, and not 
well adapted to sacerdotal residence." (Hittell.) The above statement might 
well be qualified, in so far as it refers to ancient Chinese bridges, some of 
which have been of considerable magnitude, and show much skill in design. 
(See Article 128.) 

One of the most famous Chinese architectural structures was the Porcelain 
Tower at Nanking. It was destroyed by the Chinese rebels in 1856. Accord- 
ing to Miss Toung, ("The Ceramic Art"), this tower was originally built in 
844 B. C, and was rebuilt in 371 to 376 A. D., and again in 1412 to 1431 A. D. 
Authorities differ as to the dimensions of this structure. Miss Young states 
that it was 353 feet high, while Hittell says 261 feet. The shape was octagonal, 
Avith a diameter, according to Hittell, of forty feet at the ground, According 
to some authorities, there were nine stories, each having a projecting roof, 
with a bell at every corner of each roof. The structure was built of brick, 
with a facing of white, yellow, green and red porcelain tiles. 

There are many structures in other Chinese cities. George Kennan (in the 
Outlook. March 31, 1906) describes the Soochow pagoda as being an octagonal 
tower of masonry. 300 feet in circumference, 250 feet high, in nine stories. 

The Chinese pagoda may be regarded in fact as their most important ex- 
ample of original architectural design. According to Parsons, (an American 
Engineer in China), nearly every city possesses at least one of these peculiar 
structures, which "therefore, fairly dot the surface of the country. Their 
purpose appears to be twofold, either as monuments commemorating the 
virtues or munificence of some departed benefactor, or as agents of "feng 
shui" (literally wind and Avater), the spirit genius of good and evil which, 
if properly propitiated, Avill Avard off pestilence and famine, and permit only 



95 

prosperity and happiness to visit the neighborhood. These very eut;ious towers 
are of great antiquity, Chinese records authenticating their cK'igin at least 
as far back as the early part of the Christian era. In size they vary from the 
little ones, which are nothing more than roadside shrines, to what was once 
the most beautiful and largest — the celebrated, porcelain pagoda of Nanking, 
destroyed in the Tai-ping rebellion." Parsons also states that the most prom- 
inent pagodas vary in height from 100 to 200 feet, and that they are usually 
octogonal in plan, with straight but tapering sides, and are \isually composed 
of an odd number of stories. He also states that unfortunately most of the 
large pagodas are being allowed to crumble and decay. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 802. Chinese pavilion and entrance gate 
of temple. (From Rosengarten, Architectural Styles.) No. 803. Pavilion of 
great temple at Canton. (From Rosengarten, Architectural Styles.) No. 801. 
The Porcelain tower at Nan-king. (From Ceramic Art, by Miss Young.) 
No. 804. Pagoda of Tung-Chow. (Reference not ascertained.) No. 842. 
Chinese Architecture. A good picture apparently showing entrance to a 
temple. No. 843. Temple of Heaven, Pekin. (From With the Empress 
Dowager.) 

124. Chinese Cities. The Chinese Empire has been noted since remote 
ages for the magnitude of many of its cities. In these cities as in those of 
other barbaric nations, the streets are, as a rule, very narrow and also, as 
a rule, they are neither well paved nor clean. There are some instances, how- 
ever, of streets well paved with stone. In Marco Polo's travels, he describes 
Hang Chow, the capital of southern China, and makes the following state- 
ment: "The streets of Kinsai (Hang Chow) are all paved with stone and 
brick, and so likewise are all the principal roads extending from this city 
through the Province of Nanji. " He further states that tlie main street of 
the city, leading clear through it. was paved for a width of ten paces with 
stone or brick on each side, with an intermediate space filled with small gravel, 
and with an arched drain for carrying off storm water into the neighboring 
canals. ^Modern writers are not very enthusiastic generally in their descrip- 
tions of China cities. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 854. Wall of Tartar City. No. 857. Street 
in Hu Nan. No. 855. View of Village of Kiwangtung. (All from Parson's 
An American Engineer in China.) 

125. Chinese Sanitary Engineering We have little information bearing 
upon this sub.ject in ancient times. Modern writers state that their sanitary 
arrangements are of the most primitive nature, and are the cause of much 
offence to foreigners living in Chinese cities. 

126. Chinese Irrigation and Hydraulic Engineering. The Chinese have 
practiced irrigation extensively in connection with tlieir agricultural opera- 
tions. However, we do not find mention of large irrigation works. Their 
devices for lifting water for irrigation purposes are usually operated by hand 
power, though animals are used to a limited extent, and they even make use 
of water power. 

The most extensive hydraulic constructions of the Cliinese, aside from the 
canals, appear to be the great dikes Avith which they have enclosed the chan- 
nels of the Yellow River, protecting the adjoining country from floods. They 
began the construction of these long before the Christian Era. In some places 
the dikes have been in existence so long that, by the deposit of silt, the bed 
of the river is stated to be higher at the present time than the level of the 
adjoining country. 

More noted than the dikes is the system of canals for navigation, which 
are also used to some extent for the purposes of irrigation. Between the 
Yellow and the Yangtze rivers lies the "Great Plain" of China, and in this 
portion of the country an extensive network of canals has been constructed, 
and thev are not entirelv lacking elsewhere. 



96 

. e anals ehe Grand Canal is the most noted. It extends parallel to 
... .L., lOin Han Chow on the south to Tientsin on the north. In its 
course it crosses the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers. The total length is about 
650 milts, or as tar as the distance from Washington to Chicago. For a con- 
siderable j,ortion of its length the width is 200 feet. For a considerable dis- 
tance it is constructed 20 feet above the surface of the ground. In other 
places there are cuts 60 feet deep. According to George Kennan (Outlook, 
August 31, 1906), this canal was under construction from about 200 A. D. to 
1289 A. D. He states that there are hundreds of lateral branches and feeders 
and that it unites 20,000 or 30,000 cities and villages and covers the entire 
eastern part of the empire with a watery network. 

. .lUi: strati ve Lantern Slides. No. 845. Chinese chain pump operated b}^ man 
power. (From Ewbanks' Hydraulics.) No. 838. Irrigation by chain pump. 

(From China and the Chinese, by Nevins.) No. 825 Drawing water by 
bullock power (From Stoddard's Lectures.) No. 846. Wheel for elevating 
water for irrigation purposes. (From Ewbanks' Hydraulics.) No. 856. River 
wall on Yangtze Kiang, at Wu Chang, opposite Han Chow. (From Parsons.) 

127. Chinese Navigation. Chinese navigation has been conducted on a 
very extensive scale from most remote periods for the purpose of internal 
and coastwise trade. The rivers and canals are covered with tens of thou- 
sands of crafts of different sizes and shapes. There is a large population 
living entirely upon such boats. Commerce is carried on in large volume on 
the rivers of the country, but according to methods which seem extremely 
crude to civilized visitors. 

From time immemorial, the Chinese have also made use of sea-going vessels 
of considerable size and in great numbers. They have developed a peculiar 
type of ship, known as the junk, which is clumsy in appearance but cheap in 
cost, and has good sailing qualities. They make these junks in sizes up to 
2000 tons. In Marco Polo's book, written in the 13th century, he gives a 
quite lengthy description of the ancient Chinese ships which were built for 
trade with India. He states that they were built of fir timber, with one deck, 
and that in some eases the space below the deck was divided into sixty or 
more cabins, each for an individual merchant. He states that they had good 
helms, and that the large ships had four masts, each carrying one sail. Some 
of the large ships had water-tight bulk-heads, to the number of thirteen, so 
that the Chinese anticipated the rest of the world in dividing ships into water- 
tight compartments. He also states that these ancient ships Avere double 
planked, calked with oakum inside and out, and fastened with iron nails. 
The largest ships required 300 men for the crew of each, and were capable 
of carrying 5000 to 6000 mat bags of pepper. They had sweeps as well as 
sails, four men operating each sweep. Each ship of the large class was ac- 
companied by two or three ships of smaller size, having crews of 60 to 100 
each. He also states that each ship had ten boats slung over the sides. With 
a fleet of such ships Marco Polo made a voyage from China to the western 
part of Asia in the 13th century. 

Marco Polo also states that in one Chinese city he found not less than 
15,000 ships, and that in each of two other towns he found more. Even this 
statement is not so surprising as that of Hittell, that more than 80,000 boats 
navigate the waters around the city of Canton. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 817. View of the multitude of boats near 
the city of Canton, showing the bat-like sails, and forests of masts. No. 819. 
Showing waters near Canton, literally covered with thousands of boats. 
No. 818. Showing nearby view of Chinese boats near Canton. No. 822. A 
typical Chinese craft for inland navigation. No. 824. A Chinese junk. (All 
the above from Stoddard's Lectures.) No. 833. Chinese trading junk. (From 
China and the Chinese, by Nevins.) No. 861. Freight boat poling up stream. 
(From Parsons' An American Engineer in China.) 

128. Chinese Land Transportation. Chinese land transportation is mainly 
by man power. Human labor is cheap, while animals are scarce, and rail- 



97 

ways are unknown over most of the empire. 

The roads are poorly constructed and made principally for foot traffic. In 
many instances, a narrow track is roughly paved with stone, and there is an 
earth foot-way alongside. 

. In tr<insportmg freight, various devices are used by which the carriers can 
support the weight. Where the burden is small, a carrying stick may be used, 
supported across both shoulders behind the neck, with the weights balanced 
on each side. In the ease of heavier weights, two or any number of men 
may be used, with the weight distributed to each man on the lever principle, 
by a suitable arrangement of carrying poles. 

From very ancient times, the Chinese have shown great skill in the con- 
struction of bridges. Marco Polo, already quoted so many times, writing in 
the 13th century, says that at Hung-Chow, in southern China, there were over 
12,000 bridges of various sizes. He described a stone arch bridge, ten miles 
west of Pekin, 1500 feet long and 40 feet wide, composed of twenty-four 
arches, each of sixty-three feet span, center to center, while the bridge was 
adorned with considerable ornamental construction. It is interesting to com- 
pare with this ancient account the description of Chinese bridges in Mr. 
Parsons' recent book, "An American Engineer in China," also already quoted. 
Mr. Parsons seems to have a high idea of the abilities of the Chinese in design- 
ing and constructing bridges. Most of their important bridges are stone 
arches, but Parsons gives one view of a large wooden cantilever bridge. 

In studying Chinese bridge engineering it should be remembered that their 
roads are not designed to accommodate vehicle traffic. Hence types of bridges 
have been constructed which were well adapted to foot traffic and the passage 
of animals, but which are not adapted to vehicles. The "camel-back" bridge 
may be considered a typical Chinese design. It has a very high waterway in 
the center to permit the passage of boats without lowering their sails, masts, 
while on each side of this water-way is a very steep grade, or even, in many 
cases, flights of steps. Some of these "camel-back" Chinese bridges are 
very beautiful structures. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 834. Mode of carrying burden by one 
person. No. 835. Two Chinese carrying burden. No. 840. View of pro- 
cession, showing burden can-ied by four men. No. 836. Chinese gentleman 
riding in Sedan chair. (All the above from China and the Chinese, by Nevins.) 
No. 820. A Chinese wheelbarrow used for carrying freight. No. 823. A 
wheelbarrow carrying two passengers, also showing coolie with burden stick 
carrying two balanced weights. (From Stoddard's Lectures.) No. 837. 
Chinese cart, drawn by two bullocks and a horse. (From China and the 
Chinese, by Nevins.) No. 829. A Chinese cart drawn by donkey. (From 
Stoddard's Lectures.) No. 813. A Pekin cart drawn by two donkeys. (From 
Chinese Characteristics.) No. 847. Coolie using carrying stick. No. 828. 
Boy carrying coal from mine. No. 830. American Engineer in Sedan chair. 
No. 807. Procession of carriers — the primitive railway train. No. 810. A 
typical Chinese road. No. 831. Descent from Cheling Pass, showing road 
paved with stone, worn by bare feet of carriers of many centuries. No. 832. 
A Chinese road paved with stone, showing groove worn by wheelbarrow traffic. 
CAU from Parsons.) No. 800. Chinese bridge over Grand Canal near Canton, 
China. (From Engineering Studies, by Fowler.) No. 816. A Chinese bridge. 
(From Chinese Characteristics.) No. 850. A beautiful "camel-back" bridge 
near Pekin. (From Engineering Studies, by Fowler.) No. 851. A very old 
arch in Hu Nan. No. 852. Ping-hsiang bridge. No. 853. A beautiful single 
span. No. 206. Arch ufar Pekin. No. 849. A small bridge. No. 848. A 
very old wooden cantilever bridge over La Ho at Li Hing. (All from Parsons' 
An American Engineer in China.) 

129. Japanese Engineering. No special stiuly will be made in these lec- 
tures of Japanese engineering. In so far as it belonged to the barbarian 
culture stage, it was very similar to Chinese engineering. The Japanese have. • 
however, reeentlv made good claim to attainment of civilized culture. Their 



m 25 1912 



98 



modem engineering is largely along the lines of western civilization, and 
while exceedingly interesting and showing much skill, has, as yet, little im- 
portance in connection with the history of engineering. 

Illustrative Lantern Slides. No. 4230. Ancient Japanese bridge. No. 4229. 
The famous "Spectacle Bridge" in Japan. No. 4231. Modem Japanese 
bridge, showing similarity of their modem engineering work to that of western 
engineers. (All the above from Engineering Studies, by Fowler.) 






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